1 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:06,280 Speaker 1: Well, I am recording. I'm Robert Evans. I was going 2 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:11,080 Speaker 1: to start this episode. I'm ashamed. Yeah, okay, Sophie Lichtman here, 3 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:14,880 Speaker 1: we just did a full five minutes of this podcast 4 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:19,640 Speaker 1: where an incredible opening with Robert who accused me of crimes, 5 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 1: used my full legal name and uh mispronounced Caitlyn Drante, 6 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:29,960 Speaker 1: our fabulous guest last name sixteen times, and uh and 7 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:31,120 Speaker 1: and and and we don't have it for you because 8 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: Robert wasn't recorded. Yeah, well, how do you feel? Look? 9 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:40,480 Speaker 1: I I think I am a hero and did nothing wrong. 10 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:43,559 Speaker 1: I mean, don't ever change. But also you should. You 11 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:45,919 Speaker 1: should record it. I mean, let's get the opinion of 12 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: our of our guests for today. Yeah, I just did 13 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 1: I want it clear one time. Caitlyn durrant No, I 14 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 1: don't know what you're having problems with. Good. It's incredible. 15 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:10,040 Speaker 1: You're being very mean to me. I said that, did 16 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 1: not Sophie. This is not professional. Okay, we have a 17 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 1: podcast to do. Can I apologize? How are you doing? 18 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: I'm doing well? Thank you for asking? How are you? 19 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: I'm good, Caitlin. You helped to host a podcast co 20 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 1: host Some would say most would say a podcast called 21 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:37,760 Speaker 1: the Bechtel Cast, which is about Hollywood and movies and 22 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: sexism and sexism and Hollywood movies. This is all true, yes, 23 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: and we just we've found that there's there's no problem. 24 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: There's no problem with sexism and Hollywood. It's a they're 25 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 1: doing a great job. It's all good, baby, It's all good. 26 00:01:56,760 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 1: That's what everybody says about Michael Bay And at unproblematic 27 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: scene where he showed cut out laminated of Texas is 28 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: Romeo and Juliet Law allowing adults to sleep with teenagers? 29 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: Have you not seen that? I think it's the third Transformers, 30 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: It might be the fourth, but there's one of the 31 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:22,800 Speaker 1: characters is like, he's an Australian race car driver and 32 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,359 Speaker 1: he's dating Mark Wahlberg's daughter who is seventeen, and he's 33 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: like twenty something. And Mark Wahlberg is like, hey, that's illegal. 34 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 1: You're my daughter is a child and you're an adult. 35 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:37,080 Speaker 1: And the kid pulls out a laminated copy of Texas 36 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 1: Romeo and Juliet Law, and the camera centers on it 37 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: and focuses for like several seconds, long enough for you 38 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:46,639 Speaker 1: to read the entirety of the law, Like it's very 39 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 1: clearly Michael Baby and like, hey, you can children in Texas. 40 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: It's a basically wow. It is. It's hard to say 41 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: something's one of the creepiest moments in Hollywood history, but 42 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 1: that that's got to hit the mark. That's in the 43 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 1: running for that award. Yeah, holy crap, it's amazing. I 44 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: hate that. Oh you'll have to watch that now because 45 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: I need to hear Jamie loft Is have an aneurysm 46 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:20,640 Speaker 1: through a podcast. Well, we keep trying to get you 47 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 1: on the show. You've never asked me on. Well, we 48 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: we've lie, Lie, I don't believe I've ever been asked on. 49 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: I've asked, Caitlin's asked, Jamie's asked. I've asked again Jamie's. 50 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: I would never say no to Jamie or Caitlin. It's uh, 51 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:43,480 Speaker 1: I mean maybe you're I definitely say no to you sometimes. 52 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: So like when you tell me to wake up at 53 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: the ass crack of dawn, it could it could be. 54 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:53,120 Speaker 1: The movie we want you to do is the Hannah 55 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: Montana movie. And maybe you've been reluctant to come on 56 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: for that one Montana. Then great, we'll see you there 57 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: for the Montana. The famous movie titled Montana I do 58 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: love Montana. I am. I am assuming it is a 59 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: sequel to The Hunt for Red October, where Sam Neil's 60 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 1: character is resurrected by an archangel and becomes a farmer 61 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: outside of Bozeman. Now my head canon. All right, so, Caitlin, 62 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:28,400 Speaker 1: Normally on the show, when someone comes in having a 63 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:30,800 Speaker 1: good day, it's our job to ruin it by telling 64 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:34,160 Speaker 1: him about how a bunch of babies got killed or molested, 65 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:37,479 Speaker 1: or how I don't know the world got poisoned or 66 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: something horrible happened. But today we're gonna have a little 67 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: bit more fun with it. Oh yeah, today, our bastard 68 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: didn't kill anybody except for arguably maybe one baby. Well, okay, then, yeah, 69 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: that it barely counts as a crime. Like by our standards, 70 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: he's earned the Robert Evans Award for killing no more 71 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:02,160 Speaker 1: than one baby. Maybe potentially, Yeah, let's give this guy 72 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: a Nobel Peace Prize. Yeah, I would. I would argue 73 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:07,040 Speaker 1: that he would have killed less babies than most people 74 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: who have won Nobel Peace Prizes. That's that's that's definitely, 75 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: that's absolutely true. Um, Caitlin, have you ever heard of 76 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:25,720 Speaker 1: Bernard McFadden, Bernard Berner, yeah, not Bernard, Bernard, Bernard, I 77 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:30,200 Speaker 1: mean at one Bernard, yeah, Bernar Um. Okay, well this 78 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: is going to be a fun time because so obviously, Uh, 79 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 1: you know, when when we think about the apocalypse, right 80 00:05:36,839 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: the end of days, there are a number of ways, 81 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,920 Speaker 1: like all the nukes could come like that red balloon scenario, 82 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: I think is when people think a lot something like that, 83 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:50,359 Speaker 1: Aliens could come down asteroid. I think, based on the 84 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:53,120 Speaker 1: pandemic we've had, one of the likeliest ways the world 85 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: might end involves fitness influencers. I think there's a pretty 86 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:58,760 Speaker 1: good chance that the end of the human race heavily 87 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 1: involves wellness. Uh, the people who get famous promoting wellness. Um. Yeah, yeah, 88 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:09,400 Speaker 1: that tracks to me. Yeah yeah, I don't think I 89 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 1: need to like the labor that point. Now, the title 90 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: fitness influencer today applies to just about anybody who like 91 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:19,479 Speaker 1: writes about health to a social media audience that's above 92 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:23,080 Speaker 1: a certain size, and studies consistently show that at best 93 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: about one in tent of these people provide broadly accurate information. 94 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:31,920 Speaker 1: So about nine of health influencers are just lying to people, um, 95 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 1: which is again why they're going to help end human civilization. 96 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:38,839 Speaker 1: We can currently trace a significant amount of COVID nineteen 97 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 1: disinformation to what are currently called micro influencers. These are 98 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:45,760 Speaker 1: people with like about ten to a hundred thousand followers 99 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: on apps like Instagram um, which counts as micro um 100 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 1: and makeel really bad about my following. Then it's okay, 101 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:59,279 Speaker 1: because Caitlin, I feel confident saying in upwards of eight 102 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 1: percent of theoretical so you have no role in ending civilization. Yeah, 103 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 1: but I want the power with more to be able 104 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: to if I wanted to. If I had more followers, 105 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: it would be fun because Joe Rogan could snap his 106 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 1: fingers and wipe out cities. Um. Also, yeah, boost my 107 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:24,960 Speaker 1: boost my following so that I can help and the 108 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: world if I went into a micro influencer, because studies 109 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:31,680 Speaker 1: show that micro influencers are actually much more influential. I 110 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:33,960 Speaker 1: was just joking about Joe Rogan, but people with that 111 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: kind of following are less influential than people with like 112 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 1: the ten do d thousand follower range. One of the 113 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 1: theories is that like it's a little more intimate, so 114 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: people think maybe they're less trying to sell me stuff 115 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:48,360 Speaker 1: and more like my friend giving me health advice person 116 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 1: was only you know, twelve thou followers is a little 117 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:55,600 Speaker 1: bit more relatable than someone with three point two million. Yeah, exactly, Um. 118 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 1: And so at present time, I would argue that, like 119 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 1: roughly a third of American industry is different kinds of 120 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 1: fitness and health and wellness influencers. It feels like that's 121 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: the most common job, or at least aspirational job that 122 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 1: I see. Um. But it wasn't always this way. Before 123 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:17,560 Speaker 1: the social media age, fitness influencers were a mix of 124 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:22,239 Speaker 1: celebrities who parlayed their existing fame into workout videos um, 125 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: and people who were primarily famous for either losing a 126 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 1: bunch of weight or writing a best selling exercise book. 127 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: I'm talking about people like Richard Simmons, Right. That's an 128 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:34,080 Speaker 1: early fitness influencer by most of our standards, right, Um, 129 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: he's a good example of kind of the former he was. 130 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:38,480 Speaker 1: He famous, I believe, just because he lost a bunch 131 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: of weight and then made videos teaching other people how 132 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:44,640 Speaker 1: to do it. Another early fitness influencer was a running 133 00:08:44,679 --> 00:08:49,079 Speaker 1: guru named Jim fix Um, who stand up comedians in 134 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:51,440 Speaker 1: the nineties love to joke about because he died after 135 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: a run UM. Now, perhaps the most toxic health influencer 136 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:59,600 Speaker 1: UM in the modern canon is Oprah Winfrey, who we 137 00:08:59,679 --> 00:09:02,560 Speaker 1: have talked about a number of the scams that she's perpetuated, 138 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: but Dr Phil and Dr Oz would probably be top 139 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 1: about that. Now, if anyone currently gives Oprah a run 140 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:10,360 Speaker 1: for her money, it's probably Joe Rogan, a man who 141 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:13,400 Speaker 1: I'm certain if you asked him what he considers himself, 142 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:16,439 Speaker 1: he would not say anything that sounds like health influencer. 143 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:18,920 Speaker 1: But that's also like a huge part of what he 144 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:21,760 Speaker 1: does and what his fame and popularity comes from is 145 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 1: not listen to a single second of things. Is Joe 146 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:30,960 Speaker 1: Rogan experience. Yeah, that Joe Rogan experience. He gives a 147 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,280 Speaker 1: lot of advice. I mean, I don't think he even 148 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 1: frames it as advice, but like he talks about what 149 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:37,840 Speaker 1: he does in terms of, like, here's what I'm doing 150 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 1: for COVID. You know, I'm not going to give vaccinating 151 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:43,880 Speaker 1: yadda yadi YadA, like I'll I'm taken the ivermectin or whatever. Um. 152 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:45,120 Speaker 1: He gives a lot of life and he has a 153 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 1: lot of people on his show who give like diet 154 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:49,280 Speaker 1: and lifestyle advice. So it's not just him, but it 155 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 1: left like Jordan Peterson on to talk about his all 156 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 1: meat diet um. Whether or not Joe considers himself when 157 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:03,040 Speaker 1: is a major you're like health influencer, like maybe even 158 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: the biggest currently because Oprah's kind of faded a bit 159 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,000 Speaker 1: an influence next to Joe Rogan at them at this 160 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:14,040 Speaker 1: moment um. And obviously both Joe and Oprah are ridiculously 161 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:17,360 Speaker 1: wealthy people. There are billions to be made and looking 162 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:20,920 Speaker 1: healthy um, and some people think Joe Rogan looks healthy. 163 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: I can't explain that to you, Caitlin, but they do 164 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:26,960 Speaker 1: um and then promising to teach people the secrets to 165 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,080 Speaker 1: be like you. The best of these people create little 166 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:33,160 Speaker 1: bit of cults so tight and consistent with their disinformation 167 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:35,520 Speaker 1: that no light or truth can escape. And today we're 168 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:39,240 Speaker 1: talking about the guy who invented that kind of thing, 169 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:42,520 Speaker 1: the guy who is the foundation for both Joe Rogan 170 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:45,680 Speaker 1: and Oprah Winfrey and a million lesser health gods, all 171 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:50,320 Speaker 1: spewing misinformation into the plague racked ether um. And this guy, 172 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 1: this motherfucker, is a dude named Bernard McFadden. Now that's 173 00:10:56,040 --> 00:11:02,160 Speaker 1: a weird name. Bernar Um I mean shame, and he 174 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:05,360 Speaker 1: he chose it. He chose it. He's the only Bernard 175 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:09,960 Speaker 1: there's ever fucking dog. It is okay to shame someone 176 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:14,200 Speaker 1: for choosing a stupid name because he was born Bernard, 177 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:18,200 Speaker 1: like the the the action that we are familiar, like 178 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:23,120 Speaker 1: the real name. Bernard Adolphus McFadden on August six, eighteen 179 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,800 Speaker 1: sixty eight, in mill Spring, Missouri. Now mill Spring was 180 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:29,360 Speaker 1: a tiny little ship town without much going for it, 181 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:32,480 Speaker 1: and young Bernard came into a family who also didn't 182 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:34,720 Speaker 1: have a lot going for them. His dad was an 183 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:37,360 Speaker 1: alcoholic in an era in which you weren't legally an 184 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:41,600 Speaker 1: alcoholic until you drank yourself completely to death. Now, Papa 185 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:44,560 Speaker 1: McFadden had fought in the Union Army during the Civil War. 186 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:47,520 Speaker 1: So when I say he's an alcoholic, I have some 187 00:11:47,559 --> 00:11:50,559 Speaker 1: sympathy for the man. He's probably an alcoholic because he's 188 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:57,640 Speaker 1: like lived through nightmares incomprehensible to modern men. Right. Yeah, 189 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:00,719 Speaker 1: And by the time he started his family, I think 190 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:02,720 Speaker 1: it's probably accurate to say he was basically just a 191 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:06,240 Speaker 1: broken shell of a man. Um The biography I found 192 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:09,120 Speaker 1: of Bernard says that his dad was happy only hunting 193 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:13,240 Speaker 1: deer and drinking himself to death and betting on horse races. Um. 194 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:15,600 Speaker 1: The few times he was sober, he was apparently nice 195 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:18,839 Speaker 1: to his family, but he was not sober often um, 196 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:20,760 Speaker 1: and he did not seem to take much pleasure in 197 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:25,120 Speaker 1: his children, including young Bernard. Mostly he would physically abuse 198 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:27,280 Speaker 1: his wife and his children when he came home drunk 199 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: as hell. Um. It is a bad home environment, um. 200 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:34,800 Speaker 1: Since all of the family money went to hard liquor 201 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 1: and gambling. The McFadden's barely survived on. You know, the 202 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:41,319 Speaker 1: during the best of times when when Dad was alive, 203 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 1: when Bernard was still a little kid, his mother decided 204 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:46,720 Speaker 1: she had had enough, which is not a common thing. 205 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: You do not see a lot of women who are 206 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:51,280 Speaker 1: able to do this in this period of time, like 207 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:55,240 Speaker 1: the eighteen seventies, early eighteen seventies. And she picks up 208 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 1: her son and her two young daughters and she flees 209 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:01,880 Speaker 1: her husband and their home to stay with her family. Um. 210 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 1: Papa McFadden comes by a couple of times, tries to 211 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:06,720 Speaker 1: get them back, and she doesn't take him back. She 212 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:09,680 Speaker 1: doesn't agree to it because he's a ruinous drunk. And 213 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:12,199 Speaker 1: sure enough, less than a year after she leaves him 214 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:16,319 Speaker 1: when Bernard is for his dad dies from alcohol abuse. Um, 215 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:19,680 Speaker 1: just like drinks himself to death. It was not common 216 00:13:19,679 --> 00:13:21,640 Speaker 1: for women to get divorced in the late eighteen hundreds, 217 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:23,319 Speaker 1: and I don't think this was a divorce. I think 218 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: she just was like, I'm not going to keep my 219 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 1: kids around this fucking maniac. Um. So good for her. 220 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:30,920 Speaker 1: It is a mark of what a strong woman that 221 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:33,400 Speaker 1: Bernard's mother was that she managed to do this, and 222 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:37,160 Speaker 1: she got her children free and clear from a bad situation. Unfortunately, 223 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:40,680 Speaker 1: she was not able to bring them to a good situation. Um, 224 00:13:40,679 --> 00:13:43,320 Speaker 1: this is not like a she doesn't like take them 225 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:46,560 Speaker 1: into a I mean, I guess you maybe it's better 226 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 1: Well ask that question later, Kaitlyn. All right, Um, because 227 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:54,520 Speaker 1: they were dirt poor. Um, and she was also dying 228 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,959 Speaker 1: this entire time. She was basically sick from tuberculosis all 229 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:01,160 Speaker 1: of Bernard's early life. And she can't really make any money, 230 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,959 Speaker 1: can't really feed her family, and her her relatives are 231 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,880 Speaker 1: not very helpful because they're all kind of barely hanging 232 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:12,120 Speaker 1: on by a thread. Bernard's biographer Mark Adams describes him 233 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 1: as a mama's boy, which makes sense. Obviously, he's going 234 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 1: to be dedicated to his mom. Growing up in this 235 00:14:16,679 --> 00:14:19,520 Speaker 1: kind of environment, his dad certainly did not give him 236 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 1: a lot to aspire to emulate. Bernard was also a 237 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:25,320 Speaker 1: sickly boy with poor health. Much like his mother. He 238 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:27,840 Speaker 1: was smaller than many of the other local boys, and 239 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:30,760 Speaker 1: he was regularly beaten up and dumped in a river 240 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:35,320 Speaker 1: by other kids at age seven. Yeah, he's he's a 241 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: victim of bull He's gotta he's got to have a 242 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:40,960 Speaker 1: lot of sympathy for this kid. This is we hear 243 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:43,960 Speaker 1: about some rough upbringings on behind the bastards, but this 244 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 1: is a tough one dunked in the like yeah, because 245 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 1: this is, like, you know, not a not a nice 246 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:59,200 Speaker 1: part of the world. Um, I wouldn't say a blasted hellscape, 247 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 1: but a health scape ape for sure. Now, at age seven, 248 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:07,800 Speaker 1: Bernard was vaccinated for smallpox. That seems like a good 249 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:10,760 Speaker 1: thing right today, I mean as as as a rule, 250 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,480 Speaker 1: big fans of the smallpox vacts, big fans of vaccines 251 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:17,680 Speaker 1: in general. However, in the eighteen seventies, vaccines were not 252 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:21,120 Speaker 1: quite what they are today today. Wait a minute, A 253 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:25,000 Speaker 1: bad vaccine experience for the vast majority of people means like, yeah, 254 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:26,880 Speaker 1: I felt like kind of shitty for a day, right 255 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 1: like you get the COVID vaccine. A lot of people like, yeah, 256 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:30,040 Speaker 1: I felt like I kind of had a flu for 257 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:34,840 Speaker 1: like a day. Um vaccines were different back then, so 258 00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:37,400 Speaker 1: the best way of vaccinating people against smallpox at the 259 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:40,120 Speaker 1: time it was not like a nice clean shot. You 260 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:42,400 Speaker 1: would cut their arm open with a razor blade and 261 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:45,960 Speaker 1: you would shove a scab from someone else's smallpox lesion 262 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:49,760 Speaker 1: into the wound um And this works. This does, in fact, 263 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:52,720 Speaker 1: confer immunity to small box at the low, low cost 264 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:55,760 Speaker 1: of killing a significant percentage of the people vaccinated in 265 00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 1: this manner, not as many as smallpox did. It's an improvement, 266 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,080 Speaker 1: but a lot of people die from this early vaccine 267 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 1: because you're just shoving a scab into an open wound 268 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:08,880 Speaker 1: and it gives you smallpox. For several of those people, 269 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:12,160 Speaker 1: it is supposed to give you a weekend case of 270 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:16,760 Speaker 1: small box that then gives you an immunity. However, none 271 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:18,640 Speaker 1: of us here are doctors, but I think we all 272 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:21,560 Speaker 1: can understand that if you shove a filthy scab into 273 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 1: an open wound, you can get sick like other than 274 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:28,520 Speaker 1: the way you're supposed to get sick, and in Bernard's case, 275 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 1: he gets blood poisoning, which keeps him bed ridden for 276 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:38,520 Speaker 1: six months. It's looking horrible, this poor kid. And he's 277 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:42,040 Speaker 1: how old at this point? Oh, he's like six. Oh, 278 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 1: it's poor he is. This is earliest memory. I mean, 279 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: this is probably like his earliest memory is like spending 280 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 1: six months dying in bed because a maniac doctor shoves 281 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 1: a scab into his open wound. It looks I could 282 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:03,720 Speaker 1: probably rust knife, yeah, I mean sanitization. I mean the 283 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:07,200 Speaker 1: doctors were arguing strenuously about whether or not washing your 284 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:10,679 Speaker 1: hands was like the devil's plaything or something like. It 285 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:15,320 Speaker 1: was not a great time for science. And to make 286 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:19,359 Speaker 1: it much worse, Caitlin, Not long after he recovers, this happens, 287 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:21,879 Speaker 1: and I'm going to quote from the biography Mr. America, 288 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:25,400 Speaker 1: which is about Bernard McFadden. One morning, not long after 289 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:27,720 Speaker 1: Bernard had recovered, his mother took him to St. Louis. 290 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:30,400 Speaker 1: So already we're in a bad start here. They were 291 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,160 Speaker 1: met at the Mississippi River docks by a strange gentleman. 292 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:35,480 Speaker 1: Mary explained to her son that the man was going 293 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:37,600 Speaker 1: to take him away on a steamship. She did not 294 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:40,160 Speaker 1: mention a return trip. Long after the boy had grown 295 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:43,199 Speaker 1: up and reinvented himself as Bernard McFadden. He recalled the 296 00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:46,679 Speaker 1: resulting scene as being torn, screaming and clawing and kicking 297 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:49,680 Speaker 1: in a frantic agony of fear from his mother's arms. 298 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:52,640 Speaker 1: The man managed to pull Bernard from Mary and lead 299 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:54,919 Speaker 1: him towards the wharf, but the boy broke free and 300 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,600 Speaker 1: ran back to his mother, tears running down his face. 301 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:00,280 Speaker 1: Mary told her eight year old son the cold truth. 302 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:04,719 Speaker 1: Hopeless and nearly destitute, wasting away from late stage tuberculosis, 303 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:07,080 Speaker 1: she no longer had the energy or means to care 304 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:09,560 Speaker 1: for a growing boy. She was sending him off to 305 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:13,840 Speaker 1: the cheapest boarding school she could find. So she and again, 306 00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:16,040 Speaker 1: I don't. I can't put any of laim on her. 307 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:19,160 Speaker 1: She's in an impossible situation. She's trying to she wants 308 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:21,320 Speaker 1: her kid to have someone to take care of them. 309 00:18:21,359 --> 00:18:23,840 Speaker 1: She's like, I am dying and I cannot provide you 310 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:26,080 Speaker 1: with food, Like this is the best option that is 311 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:28,639 Speaker 1: available to me. And it's a ship option because this 312 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:35,320 Speaker 1: school is a horrible place. This, this is a school 313 00:18:35,359 --> 00:18:38,480 Speaker 1: that would qualify as a war crime. There are concentration 314 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,480 Speaker 1: camps that were nicer than this school. You know, are 315 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:44,520 Speaker 1: we gonna care more about this school? Yeah, it was 316 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:49,720 Speaker 1: officially an orphanage. M Bernard called it the starvation School. 317 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:52,720 Speaker 1: He was of the opinion as an adult that the 318 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:55,360 Speaker 1: orphans and olive her twist headed easy compared to him. 319 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:59,280 Speaker 1: Children were barely fed. The only calories they could reliably 320 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:01,320 Speaker 1: get came in the form of peanuts, which at the 321 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:04,400 Speaker 1: time peanut butter hasn't been like created yet, so at 322 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:07,760 Speaker 1: the time peanuts are basically trash and are being sold 323 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:10,800 Speaker 1: as hog feed for a dollar a ton um. So 324 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:14,639 Speaker 1: that's that's what the kids get, and not much of that. So, 325 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:17,880 Speaker 1: after several months of slowly starving to death, Bernard's mother 326 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 1: came for him. She'd managed to find, like get in contact. 327 00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:23,159 Speaker 1: It's hard to get in contact with family, right. You 328 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:25,240 Speaker 1: may know, like, well, I've got relatives in this state, 329 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:27,200 Speaker 1: but like you haven't seen him in years. It takes 330 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,280 Speaker 1: six months to fucking get anywhere. So she manages with 331 00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:33,679 Speaker 1: like the last strength in her body, um to find 332 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:36,320 Speaker 1: some relatives who are willing to take Bernard's sisters, who 333 00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:39,080 Speaker 1: she keeps with her UM, and then she comes back 334 00:19:39,119 --> 00:19:42,600 Speaker 1: for him because she's figured out a better solution for him. Um, 335 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 1: she knows she's close to death. At this point, she's 336 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:46,800 Speaker 1: kind of scrambling to get all of her children set 337 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:50,400 Speaker 1: up as well as her limited resources would allow. Unfortunately, 338 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:53,600 Speaker 1: she was not great at this, although arguably you could 339 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:55,760 Speaker 1: again say this is like an impossible task. And the 340 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:59,000 Speaker 1: person that she places Bernard with after this orphanage was 341 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:01,880 Speaker 1: an extremely stent relative who saw him more as cheap 342 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,199 Speaker 1: labor than a human being. But it's a step up 343 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:12,600 Speaker 1: from the starvation school. Yes, yeah, yeah, that's better. That's 344 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:15,200 Speaker 1: we're doing fine. We're doing fine. And you know who 345 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:19,919 Speaker 1: else is doing fine, Caitlin, the products and services that 346 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:22,280 Speaker 1: support this podcast. I knew that was going to They're 347 00:20:22,359 --> 00:20:33,440 Speaker 1: nailing it. They're doing great, Caitlin, they're doing great. Land. Anyway, 348 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:42,560 Speaker 1: here's ads. We're back, and I'm I'm just basking in 349 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:44,399 Speaker 1: the glow of pride that I didn't say, you know 350 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:47,840 Speaker 1: who else doesn't starve children? Robert. I was just going 351 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,800 Speaker 1: to commend you and how pure and not horrible that 352 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:54,199 Speaker 1: ad break. Yeah, yeah, that's going to keep us in 353 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:58,520 Speaker 1: the house and home for another week, Sophie. So this 354 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:02,399 Speaker 1: relative and his wife, the family that Bernard is placed 355 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,840 Speaker 1: with an again distant family run a hotel near Chicago. 356 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:08,600 Speaker 1: When Bernard met them, he was overwhelmed by the fact 357 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:11,359 Speaker 1: that they were fat, which is he had not like 358 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:15,360 Speaker 1: well because number one, it's harder to be fat back then. Um. 359 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:19,000 Speaker 1: Number two, he has spent his entire childhood starving um, 360 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,600 Speaker 1: and his family has been starving not enough food. Ever, 361 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:24,359 Speaker 1: so the fact that he when he just assumes anyone 362 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:27,600 Speaker 1: fat is richest shit right like he he almost couldn't 363 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:30,280 Speaker 1: comprehend the idea that people could be fat like. He 364 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:33,920 Speaker 1: recalls this as being like baffling to him. This couple 365 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:37,560 Speaker 1: set Bernard to working long hours staffing their hotel. They 366 00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:40,640 Speaker 1: fed him, but that was about all they did for him. 367 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:43,000 Speaker 1: One day, a few months into his time with him, 368 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:45,960 Speaker 1: the man he was staying with like told him offhandedly, hey, 369 00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:50,680 Speaker 1: your mom died, um, And then the hotel owner's wife said, uh, 370 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:53,080 Speaker 1: this one's going the same way. She says, as to 371 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:56,800 Speaker 1: her husband, this one's going the same way. Yeah, he's 372 00:21:56,800 --> 00:22:00,200 Speaker 1: got all the symptoms consumption runs in the family. By 373 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:02,880 Speaker 1: hey mom, Hey, could your dad or your hey kid, 374 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:04,960 Speaker 1: your mom died and then the ladies like, yeah, it 375 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:09,240 Speaker 1: looked like this motherfucker's gonna drop pretty soon too again. 376 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:14,639 Speaker 1: Bleak childhood, truly, I would argue, not really a childhood, 377 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:22,159 Speaker 1: so oh, just just just one torture situation after another 378 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:26,280 Speaker 1: pretty horrible situation. Out of spite for his relatives as 379 00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:28,879 Speaker 1: much as anything, Bernard decided then and there that he 380 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:33,680 Speaker 1: would become the healthiest man alive now. Consumption Today, when 381 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,080 Speaker 1: people talk about someone having consumption, generally they are referring 382 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:40,600 Speaker 1: to tuberculosis or tv um. But it's also worth noting 383 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:44,280 Speaker 1: that like everyone that people said had consumption didn't actually 384 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:48,359 Speaker 1: have tuberculosis because medicine was shipped and people got sick 385 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:50,520 Speaker 1: in a variety of ways that made them like thin 386 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 1: and kind of in bad health, and everyone was just 387 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:56,520 Speaker 1: like that person is like thin and pale and sickly, 388 00:22:56,720 --> 00:22:59,440 Speaker 1: it's got to be tuberculosis. And sometimes it was like, no, 389 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:02,920 Speaker 1: they're not. They're eating, like they're not getting nutrients. They're 390 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 1: like basically have been starved their entire life of necessary 391 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:08,199 Speaker 1: food stuffs or whatever like they have I don't know, 392 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:10,800 Speaker 1: a parasite or something like. There's all sorts of things 393 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:14,120 Speaker 1: that can make someone in the eighteen sixties seventies say 394 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:17,280 Speaker 1: like Oh, it's got to be the consumption. It was like, no, 395 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:22,320 Speaker 1: you basically everything was misdiagnosed back then. I think it's 396 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 1: some things right, but yeah, a lot of I mean 397 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:27,480 Speaker 1: I don't think he had t B because he hears 398 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:30,720 Speaker 1: himself with like diet and exercise later so which I 399 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:32,879 Speaker 1: don't think works with TV. I think he was just 400 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:39,239 Speaker 1: horribly malnourished because he grew up unbelievably poor. Right. Um, 401 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:42,119 Speaker 1: after a time with the hotel, Bernard was moved to 402 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:44,879 Speaker 1: a farm in northern Illinois. And these are again like 403 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:47,280 Speaker 1: family members who treat him as labor with no thought 404 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:50,280 Speaker 1: to his emotional health or education. To the extent that 405 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:52,679 Speaker 1: he was ever educated at all in his childhood, it 406 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:54,800 Speaker 1: was like he was occasionally sent to school for it 407 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:58,000 Speaker 1: day here in a day there because the truant officers 408 00:23:58,040 --> 00:23:59,879 Speaker 1: were in town and like they he needed to like 409 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:04,120 Speaker 1: not get them in trouble. Um. Still, the fresh air 410 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:06,560 Speaker 1: and the manual labor of farm life did him wonders. 411 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:08,720 Speaker 1: He starts putting on muscle for the first time, he 412 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,680 Speaker 1: stops showing what people consider to be symptoms of consumption, 413 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:13,480 Speaker 1: like as soon as he gets out in the fresh air, 414 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:16,119 Speaker 1: working with his body and eating a decent diet. He 415 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,400 Speaker 1: has a high a diet, high end dairy, so he's 416 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:20,240 Speaker 1: finally getting a lot of protein for the first time 417 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:23,680 Speaker 1: in his life. He's immediately in much better health because again, 418 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:26,760 Speaker 1: he didn't have consumption. He was just horribly. He was 419 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:30,520 Speaker 1: just starving, just eating peanuts. Is that where the phrase 420 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:32,919 Speaker 1: comes from, or that expression where like, if you like 421 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:35,639 Speaker 1: work for hardly any money, he's like, Oh, I'm just 422 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:39,680 Speaker 1: getting peanuts or whatever. I mean, that would make sense, 423 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:42,160 Speaker 1: right because it used to be like literally the cheapest 424 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:48,320 Speaker 1: food you could possibly get. That would be my guess. Um, 425 00:24:48,359 --> 00:24:51,760 Speaker 1: I don't know, so let's say that it is. Let's 426 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:54,840 Speaker 1: say that it is. During his time at the farm, 427 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:57,439 Speaker 1: Bernard began to learn the lessons that would become the 428 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:01,000 Speaker 1: center of his health philosophy. Outdoor or labor, along with 429 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:04,520 Speaker 1: a sparse diet consisting mostly of vegetables and milk, was 430 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:07,440 Speaker 1: the key to health, which is not bad Pelt advice. 431 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,160 Speaker 1: If you spend a lot of time working around outside 432 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:13,920 Speaker 1: using your body, vegetables, milk, avoid red meat, which is 433 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:15,520 Speaker 1: a thing like he doesn't he's not really a big 434 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:17,840 Speaker 1: fan of meat. Like that's not bad diet advice most 435 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:20,880 Speaker 1: people will do all right on that kind of a diet. Um. 436 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,760 Speaker 1: This merged with his unfortunately well earned hatred of vaccines, 437 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:28,680 Speaker 1: which is understandable. We're not talking about like modern anti 438 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:31,760 Speaker 1: vac shit. If you have Bernard's childhood, I get why 439 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:35,680 Speaker 1: you'd be anti vaccine when you were like bedridden for 440 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:39,240 Speaker 1: six months because you have blood poisoning because something gave 441 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:46,800 Speaker 1: you a bad smallpox vaccine in the eighteen seventies. Yeah. Yeah, 442 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 1: that's not really being anti science, like it's it is 443 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:53,240 Speaker 1: anti science, but like I can't blow. Also, the vaccines 444 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:56,800 Speaker 1: were anti science back then. They weren't. I mean, the 445 00:25:56,800 --> 00:26:00,359 Speaker 1: same thing is they were better right than smallpox, because 446 00:26:00,359 --> 00:26:06,280 Speaker 1: smallpox is fucking nightmare. But yeah, yeah, it's weird, Caitlin, 447 00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:08,919 Speaker 1: it's I mean, I think most of us would be 448 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:12,240 Speaker 1: anti anything that kept us bed ridden for six months. Yeah, 449 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,359 Speaker 1: I think I would be. I think I'd probably not 450 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:20,399 Speaker 1: be supportive of that thing. Um. Another pillar of his 451 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:24,399 Speaker 1: growing philosophy came when, after a particularly bleak church lecture, 452 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:27,240 Speaker 1: he stole some of the farmer he was living, some 453 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:29,760 Speaker 1: of this farmer's whiskey and a bunch of chewing tobacco, 454 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,080 Speaker 1: and he Basically, he has like this church lecture where 455 00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:34,800 Speaker 1: they're like everybody's going to hill and he gets sad, 456 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:37,120 Speaker 1: so he steals a bunch of liquor and chewing tobacco 457 00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:40,000 Speaker 1: and he gets just wrecked. And he's he is twelve 458 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:42,640 Speaker 1: at this just goes on a bender way he's twelve. Yeah, 459 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:53,239 Speaker 1: he's twelve, a hard twelve Bernard. Yeah, he gets he 460 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,800 Speaker 1: gets wrecked, and this is um probably the last time 461 00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:58,960 Speaker 1: he ever gets wrecked, because he wakes up in the 462 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,560 Speaker 1: morning with a horror will hangover. You know, you know 463 00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:06,680 Speaker 1: those tobacco and hard liquor hangovers. I went to college. Yeah, yeah, 464 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:11,159 Speaker 1: I know those are not pleasant for you or anyone 465 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:16,560 Speaker 1: around you. Um so he uh. He decides, based on 466 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:20,360 Speaker 1: this hangover to spend the rest of his life sober um, 467 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:22,720 Speaker 1: which I have decided on a number of occasions. It 468 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,840 Speaker 1: never stuck with me, but it does for him the same. 469 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:30,520 Speaker 1: I'm like, I'm never drinking against time choices. But then 470 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:34,760 Speaker 1: you know, two weeks later, yeah, I'm having a glass 471 00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:37,160 Speaker 1: of wine. You know what, I would like a hurricane 472 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:44,560 Speaker 1: at nine in the morning, Sophie, when do you drink hurricanes? 473 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:51,199 Speaker 1: Not morning? First of all, you wouldn't be awake, not 474 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:56,680 Speaker 1: if I'm drinking enough hurricanes. Yes, So if you're gonna 475 00:27:56,680 --> 00:28:00,119 Speaker 1: have to bribe Robert for like these early recordings with 476 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:03,439 Speaker 1: yeah hurricanes, Yeah, deliver hurricanes to my house and I 477 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:11,920 Speaker 1: will wake up as early as that was a lie. Okay, 478 00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:16,919 Speaker 1: So shortly after this, um Bernard. You know, he loves 479 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:19,960 Speaker 1: the farm labor, he loves the outdoor life. But he's 480 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:23,600 Speaker 1: also he's he grows up with a lot of pride um, 481 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:25,960 Speaker 1: which is you have to say, impressive for a kid 482 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:30,440 Speaker 1: who's upbringing is so comprehensively bleak. And despite loving the lifestyle, 483 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:33,080 Speaker 1: he's enraged at the fact that he's not getting paid 484 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:35,440 Speaker 1: much money. He thinks he's worth more money than he's getting. 485 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:39,400 Speaker 1: So shortly after this he leaves, like the countryside for 486 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:42,840 Speaker 1: the big city, which in this case was unfortunately St. Louis. 487 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:47,000 Speaker 1: He got St. Lucis, well, I was born there for 488 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:52,480 Speaker 1: one thing, so I get to So he gets a 489 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:54,680 Speaker 1: job with he had another uncle, and this one runs 490 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:57,760 Speaker 1: a dry goods store. Bernard earned twelve dollars a month 491 00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:00,360 Speaker 1: to help keep the books and manage the store. He 492 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:02,680 Speaker 1: was promoted after a year, and he made pretty good money. 493 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:04,840 Speaker 1: For a teenage boy at the time, but the work 494 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:07,800 Speaker 1: kept him indoors and huddled over a desk at all times, 495 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:10,240 Speaker 1: so he's just experienced what he considers to be the 496 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:13,040 Speaker 1: joys of being physically fit, of laboring with his body. 497 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:15,840 Speaker 1: And then he gets stuck inside a dank office all 498 00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:18,360 Speaker 1: day every day and he goes kind of stir crazy 499 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:21,760 Speaker 1: and his his health issues return, right because he thinks 500 00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:24,280 Speaker 1: it's his consumption coming back. The reality is that, like, yeah, 501 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:26,800 Speaker 1: you shouldn't sit inside a desk all day and not 502 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:31,200 Speaker 1: go outside. It's it's it's bad for you. It's not 503 00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:34,400 Speaker 1: good for anybody. Um. And also you are thirteen. You 504 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:37,440 Speaker 1: should not be working a desk job for sixty hours 505 00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:45,280 Speaker 1: a week. Oh god, yeah, yeah, it's not good for you. Um. 506 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:48,600 Speaker 1: So yeah, his health issues return and he's desperate. He 507 00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:51,120 Speaker 1: winds up stumbling through the city one day until he 508 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:54,440 Speaker 1: happens upon a gym. Now at the time, Jim's are 509 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:57,280 Speaker 1: a pretty new concept, right, This is like not all 510 00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:00,760 Speaker 1: they exist at all? Yeah, they did, they did. Um. 511 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:03,000 Speaker 1: They actually started earlier than you might think. The Young 512 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:05,720 Speaker 1: Men's Christian Association, or the y m c A had 513 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:08,200 Speaker 1: been founded in England a couple of decades earlier, in 514 00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:11,120 Speaker 1: eighteen forty four, UM and it had been founded to 515 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:14,440 Speaker 1: push back against the unhealthy conditions caused by the switch 516 00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:17,960 Speaker 1: from pastoral farming lives to industrial work and desk work 517 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:22,160 Speaker 1: by men and dense cities. So the actual origin of 518 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:24,560 Speaker 1: jim culture comes out of the same stuff that Bernard 519 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:29,000 Speaker 1: is experiencing moving from farming, which is, I don't know, 520 00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:30,800 Speaker 1: there's a lot of things that can be unhealthy about 521 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:32,880 Speaker 1: some of the different motions of farming, but as a 522 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:36,520 Speaker 1: general rule, moving around outside, using your body, the fresh air, 523 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:39,840 Speaker 1: pretty good. People who grow up farming tend to be 524 00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:43,840 Speaker 1: healthier than people who grow up in dank industrial cesspits, 525 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,560 Speaker 1: like every city in the in the mid eighteen hundreds. UM. 526 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:49,440 Speaker 1: And that's that's where the Y m c A comes 527 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,920 Speaker 1: out of, is people recognizing not knowing much about health yet, 528 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:57,120 Speaker 1: but people recognizing that this seems bad for us, seems 529 00:30:57,160 --> 00:31:01,920 Speaker 1: like this is killing everybody. Huh do all the twelve 530 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,080 Speaker 1: year olds have lung cancer? We might need to do 531 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:11,520 Speaker 1: something about this. Um. So the christ Yeah, good for 532 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:14,320 Speaker 1: those young Christian men. UM. The Y and other groups 533 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,040 Speaker 1: like it had noticed not just the deliterious effects of 534 00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:20,760 Speaker 1: industrial life on people. But that disease spread rampantly in 535 00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:24,040 Speaker 1: cramped urban environments, right like, it's a great place for 536 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:27,760 Speaker 1: bacteria and viruses to propagate. And these guys came to 537 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:32,080 Speaker 1: believe that physical exercise could prevent disease, which is not 538 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:35,440 Speaker 1: correct in the way they thought it was, but it's 539 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:38,960 Speaker 1: also not wrong, right like, if you exercise, your immune 540 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 1: system will be stronger, which does render you less vulnerable 541 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:45,520 Speaker 1: to all of the horrible diseases that riddle distinct drenched 542 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:51,800 Speaker 1: filth pit like England or St. Louis. Um. So, religion 543 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:53,640 Speaker 1: gets heavily bound up in all of this, as it 544 00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:55,760 Speaker 1: was with everything else in those days. And the y 545 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:59,200 Speaker 1: m c A isn't just like standing for people being healthier. 546 00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:02,480 Speaker 1: It's part of an intellectual movement that became known as 547 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:08,160 Speaker 1: muscular Christianity. Um, what I know, right well, I mean 548 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:10,400 Speaker 1: you just think about those ripped jesus Is on the 549 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:13,760 Speaker 1: wall with like their fucking abs and deults that don't quit. 550 00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:16,600 Speaker 1: I mean, if you're holding yourself up on across, your 551 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:19,440 Speaker 1: doubts are going to be pretty pretty shredded. You know 552 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:25,400 Speaker 1: which are the deults? Are those like your back shoulder area? Yeah? Yeah, baby. 553 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:29,960 Speaker 1: So I'm going to read a quote from The Guardian 554 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:35,760 Speaker 1: about what muscular Christianity was please. The muscular Christians strongly 555 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:38,760 Speaker 1: believed in the formative power of athletic competition that by 556 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,680 Speaker 1: participating in games and sports, young men would be instilled 557 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:45,640 Speaker 1: with positive character traits. The muscular Christians had particular concerns 558 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:48,840 Speaker 1: that America's men were becoming soft, and thus placed higher 559 00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:51,800 Speaker 1: value one games that created a few bruises in the process. 560 00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:55,040 Speaker 1: In eighteen sixty eight, a year before Rutgers beat Princeton 561 00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:58,720 Speaker 1: in the first ever college football contest, one American muscular 562 00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:01,920 Speaker 1: Christian wrote, there is a precise discipline in danger. I 563 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:05,320 Speaker 1: consider no man educated who was not educated to meet danger, 564 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:08,400 Speaker 1: grapple with it, and conquer it. And any system of 565 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:12,440 Speaker 1: gymnastics which leaves out danger is an emasculated system. And 566 00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:14,760 Speaker 1: the context of this article is about there was like 567 00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:17,920 Speaker 1: one year where like a ship, like like team's worth 568 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:20,640 Speaker 1: of people diet in a single football season because they 569 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:22,720 Speaker 1: didn't wear any kind of they were just murdering each 570 00:33:22,760 --> 00:33:25,720 Speaker 1: other out of the gridiron thattball. We're just like, yeah, 571 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:29,760 Speaker 1: let's go watch some kids kill each other. Oh okay, 572 00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:32,720 Speaker 1: So hang on, I have some thoughts. There seems to 573 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:34,960 Speaker 1: be a lot of toxic masculinity wrapped up in this 574 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:41,400 Speaker 1: because everybody like even more than you'd expect. Well maybe 575 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:44,160 Speaker 1: not more than you'd expect, but they're just like, we 576 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:47,240 Speaker 1: need to be violent towards each other because if we're not, 577 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:50,240 Speaker 1: that's emasculating, and we need to beat the ship out 578 00:33:50,280 --> 00:33:55,320 Speaker 1: of each other or otherwise we're little girls. Yeah, I mean, 579 00:33:55,360 --> 00:34:00,120 Speaker 1: the attitude is very much it's not really proper, not necessary, 580 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:02,760 Speaker 1: not proper exercise, but certainly not a proper sport if 581 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:10,400 Speaker 1: you can't die doing it, which is my attitude towards 582 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:16,399 Speaker 1: a good party. You know what, I don't. I don't disagree. Yeah, 583 00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:20,960 Speaker 1: all joy carries with at the risk of death. This 584 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:24,160 Speaker 1: is this is what we're cursed to know if if 585 00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:27,480 Speaker 1: the stakes aren't high, I'm not having fun. Yeah exactly, 586 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:31,160 Speaker 1: fuck it. Yeah, and that's why drunk driving has such 587 00:34:31,160 --> 00:34:37,640 Speaker 1: a proud cultural tradition. Now, while all this is happening, 588 00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:40,879 Speaker 1: the actual science of fitness is also starting to grow. 589 00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:45,480 Speaker 1: People are beginning to learn how to be physically fit. Um, 590 00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:48,720 Speaker 1: and yeah, they're starting to write there's I mean, today 591 00:34:48,760 --> 00:34:52,600 Speaker 1: there's more misinformation than good misinformation about fitness, so it's 592 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:57,080 Speaker 1: even messier back then now. For centuries, physicians had advised 593 00:34:57,120 --> 00:35:00,000 Speaker 1: months of bed rest and indoor isolation for people who 594 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:01,799 Speaker 1: got sick. Like, if you were sick, they would say, well, 595 00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:04,680 Speaker 1: you need to hide in a room alone, like don't 596 00:35:04,719 --> 00:35:07,600 Speaker 1: go outside, stay in this like quiet, dark, dank room 597 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:11,400 Speaker 1: and never leave for years, um, which you might recognize 598 00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:15,680 Speaker 1: as bad for people. Look, I've seen the secret garden, 599 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:19,600 Speaker 1: and I know that that's not how that works. So 600 00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:21,879 Speaker 1: I mean that I think a secret garden is good 601 00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:24,840 Speaker 1: for people, especially if you're talking about like a guerrilla 602 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:28,240 Speaker 1: grow and you're you're illegally growing marijuana and like public 603 00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:31,560 Speaker 1: land great for your health. A lot of time running. 604 00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:33,480 Speaker 1: I don't know if you've seen the movie, but it's 605 00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:36,360 Speaker 1: about a little sickly boy who's just like kept away 606 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:40,200 Speaker 1: in isolation. And then the little girl, like a cousin 607 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:42,719 Speaker 1: of his, comes and like finds him, and then she's like, 608 00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:46,520 Speaker 1: by the way, I found this secret garden outside your house. 609 00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:48,400 Speaker 1: Let's go to it. And he's like, I can't, the 610 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:51,400 Speaker 1: spores will kill me, and she's like, no, it'll be 611 00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:53,480 Speaker 1: good for you. And then he gets really healthy and 612 00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:57,800 Speaker 1: then he's he like, he's great because he goes outside 613 00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:01,040 Speaker 1: and enjoys. Good to go outside because because we were 614 00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:04,080 Speaker 1: supposed to be outside a lot of the time. Otherwise 615 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:07,960 Speaker 1: we die. Um so yeah. In the last twenty or 616 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:12,200 Speaker 1: so years of the nineteenth century, doctors slowly start to 617 00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:15,719 Speaker 1: and not evenly start to realize that like, oh, it's 618 00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:18,400 Speaker 1: good to move your body, people are less likely to 619 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:21,920 Speaker 1: die when they regularly move their bodies. Um, this actually 620 00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:24,360 Speaker 1: makes a lot of health problems better, Like having people 621 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:27,680 Speaker 1: go out in bicycle like stops them from getting horribly 622 00:36:27,719 --> 00:36:30,919 Speaker 1: sick sometimes. And I'm gonna quote from the book Mr 623 00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:35,400 Speaker 1: America here. Though Americans had a history of importing fitness 624 00:36:35,400 --> 00:36:38,279 Speaker 1: fads from the continent, Ben Franklin wrote in seventeen eighty 625 00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:40,440 Speaker 1: six that he'd reached a ripe old age because I 626 00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:43,600 Speaker 1: live temporarily, drink no wine, and used daily exercise of 627 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:46,600 Speaker 1: the dumbbell. It was not until the United States was 628 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:49,800 Speaker 1: well into its own Industrial Revolution that its first homegrown 629 00:36:49,840 --> 00:36:54,920 Speaker 1: fitness guru emerged. He was Diocletian Lewis. Fucking incredible names 630 00:36:54,960 --> 00:37:00,360 Speaker 1: back then. Diocletian, Diocletian Lewis. I think Diocletian was around Nimber. 631 00:37:00,719 --> 00:37:05,680 Speaker 1: He was Diocletian Lewis Harvard University physical education instructor. In 632 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:08,960 Speaker 1: September eighteen sixty Harper's Weekly magazine hailed him as the 633 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:13,080 Speaker 1: genius behind the country's athletic revival. His enemies were stress 634 00:37:13,080 --> 00:37:16,560 Speaker 1: and inactivity, and his weapon was exercise. The newly formed 635 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:19,440 Speaker 1: classes of desk bound office clerks and the expanding ranks 636 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:22,600 Speaker 1: of house bound urban mothers were stockpiling nervous energy in 637 00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:26,120 Speaker 1: their pale, untaxed bodies, like pressure building in a Fulton 638 00:37:26,239 --> 00:37:29,640 Speaker 1: steam engine. In eighteen sixty nine, the physician George Beard 639 00:37:29,719 --> 00:37:33,520 Speaker 1: gave this malaise the name neurasthenia. It was also commonly 640 00:37:33,520 --> 00:37:39,000 Speaker 1: known as exhaustion. Americans were warned to beware its symptoms insomnia, anxiety, headaches, 641 00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:42,319 Speaker 1: And that's again they don't understand the reason behind it, 642 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:46,080 Speaker 1: but that's good, basically accurate. That like, yeah, if you 643 00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:49,799 Speaker 1: spend all days stuck inside not moving your body, you 644 00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:54,480 Speaker 1: feel like shit. It is it's bad for you. Um, 645 00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:58,640 Speaker 1: it's good to get outside and move around. Um. So 646 00:37:58,920 --> 00:38:02,840 Speaker 1: that's kind of how that begins as a broad cultural understanding. 647 00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:07,640 Speaker 1: And after Diocletian Lewis came another Harvard Man Dudley Allen Sergeant, 648 00:38:07,800 --> 00:38:10,600 Speaker 1: who coined the term preventative medicine. He's like the first 649 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:12,759 Speaker 1: guy to be like, what do we stopped people from 650 00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:17,120 Speaker 1: getting sick? Wouldn't that be based? Um? And he devised 651 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:20,319 Speaker 1: the first pulley weight machines and exercise history, so like 652 00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:23,280 Speaker 1: the origins of all the like not like free weights, 653 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:26,799 Speaker 1: but the different machines at your gym these days or whatever. Like, 654 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:29,440 Speaker 1: he's the guy who figures out like the first of those. 655 00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:33,880 Speaker 1: And Sergeant is generally recognized as the father of physical education, 656 00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:36,719 Speaker 1: which in some ways makes him the worst bastard we've 657 00:38:36,719 --> 00:38:38,760 Speaker 1: ever discussed on this show, because he is the origin 658 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:41,759 Speaker 1: of pe as a concept. Um, did you not have 659 00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:48,440 Speaker 1: a good time in gym class, Robert? Did anyone? Was 660 00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:52,319 Speaker 1: that a good time for anybody? Had a great time? 661 00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:56,120 Speaker 1: I loved getting changed in front of other people in 662 00:38:56,120 --> 00:39:00,360 Speaker 1: the middle of the school day show. Sky MMed my 663 00:39:00,400 --> 00:39:03,759 Speaker 1: way into being the assistant who counts the laps on 664 00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:06,560 Speaker 1: lap day in the seventh grade. So I didn't have 665 00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:08,680 Speaker 1: a lot of friends, but I didn't have to run 666 00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:12,120 Speaker 1: lap day. I had a friend who died in p 667 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:18,280 Speaker 1: oh please bad. Yeah. Yeah, he had like a hard problem. 668 00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:21,120 Speaker 1: He had been like he had, he had been exempt 669 00:39:21,200 --> 00:39:24,319 Speaker 1: from PE for years, and then for whatever reason, they 670 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:27,680 Speaker 1: decided he was better and he could he had to 671 00:39:27,719 --> 00:39:30,120 Speaker 1: do PE. And then he dropped dead during a run. 672 00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:35,880 Speaker 1: Pretty fucked up, Pretty fucked up. Um, So you know 673 00:39:36,040 --> 00:39:43,360 Speaker 1: whatever Jim class. So, at any rate, by the last 674 00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:45,640 Speaker 1: twenty or so years of the eighteen hundreds, you have 675 00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:48,839 Speaker 1: a few different distinct strands of physical culture coming again. 676 00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:50,440 Speaker 1: You see, these are all like different, but they're all 677 00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:53,680 Speaker 1: kind of interrelated. You've got these muscular Christians talking about 678 00:39:53,760 --> 00:39:57,200 Speaker 1: like the way the idea that sport and fitness improves 679 00:39:57,239 --> 00:40:00,279 Speaker 1: moral character, right, that like God wants you to take 680 00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:02,120 Speaker 1: care of your body because it's his body, and like 681 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:04,400 Speaker 1: this is part of like being a good Christian. You 682 00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:08,520 Speaker 1: have the more humanistic secular values of Diocletian Lewis, who 683 00:40:08,520 --> 00:40:13,040 Speaker 1: sees activity as an antidote to um sedentary industrial life. 684 00:40:13,239 --> 00:40:15,799 Speaker 1: And then you've got Sergeant whose whose values are kind 685 00:40:15,800 --> 00:40:18,600 Speaker 1: of the father of Pe, whose values are starting to 686 00:40:18,760 --> 00:40:22,240 Speaker 1: verge on eugenics. Right. Um, the basic idea is like, okay, 687 00:40:22,320 --> 00:40:25,240 Speaker 1: look at technology, colonialism, and history. It's obvious that people 688 00:40:25,239 --> 00:40:28,080 Speaker 1: are improving, Right, That's how these people think white people 689 00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:30,279 Speaker 1: in this period like, oh, people are obviously better than 690 00:40:30,280 --> 00:40:33,240 Speaker 1: we were before because we used to be savages. Um. 691 00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:35,680 Speaker 1: Like the people who I still consider to be savages, 692 00:40:35,719 --> 00:40:38,400 Speaker 1: who's everyone who isn't white and lives in a city. Um. 693 00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:40,799 Speaker 1: And so his idea is that like, if you can 694 00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:43,920 Speaker 1: improve people through exercise, if it makes people better, then 695 00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:47,520 Speaker 1: if you can force societies to exercise its scale, you 696 00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:51,080 Speaker 1: can improve the human race, right, which is and again 697 00:40:51,360 --> 00:40:54,080 Speaker 1: exercise is good. I would argue this is not a 698 00:40:54,080 --> 00:40:58,799 Speaker 1: healthy way to think of exercise. No, especially because like 699 00:40:59,040 --> 00:41:03,239 Speaker 1: that has evolved then to like modern day A lot 700 00:41:03,280 --> 00:41:06,160 Speaker 1: of like modern day able is um, which is like 701 00:41:06,200 --> 00:41:11,399 Speaker 1: a huge problem with the like wellness movement that exists now. 702 00:41:11,560 --> 00:41:15,480 Speaker 1: And I mean, yeah, it is a problem. And it's 703 00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:16,920 Speaker 1: one of those things like when I talk about it 704 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:19,160 Speaker 1: is good to move around, it is good to exercise, 705 00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:22,640 Speaker 1: there are people who don't have that option, and that 706 00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:25,120 Speaker 1: that's that requires them to do additional things in order 707 00:41:25,160 --> 00:41:27,840 Speaker 1: to stay healthy, because like you do, like your body 708 00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:30,680 Speaker 1: needs a certain amount of exertion in order to to 709 00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:34,880 Speaker 1: do to do it's best and it's it's difficult, um, 710 00:41:34,920 --> 00:41:37,720 Speaker 1: But you're starting to see I mean obviously these people 711 00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:39,800 Speaker 1: being who they are, there's a lot of moral value 712 00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:42,680 Speaker 1: attached to being able to exercise and in the way 713 00:41:42,680 --> 00:41:46,000 Speaker 1: that they think is best. Um, and there's a lot 714 00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:49,160 Speaker 1: of problematic shit, as there is still today, as you 715 00:41:49,239 --> 00:41:55,279 Speaker 1: just noted. But you know what's not problematic, Caitlin, the 716 00:41:55,320 --> 00:41:58,640 Speaker 1: goods and services, the products and so the goods are 717 00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:02,879 Speaker 1: incredibly problematic. Oh my god, do not do not check 718 00:42:02,880 --> 00:42:08,120 Speaker 1: out like fucked up. I'm sorry, fucked up. The products. Yeah, 719 00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:13,040 Speaker 1: the products are fine. Products are golden, unless unless it's uh, yeah, 720 00:42:13,239 --> 00:42:16,520 Speaker 1: you know, one of the not good ones that we 721 00:42:16,600 --> 00:42:20,239 Speaker 1: didn't approve. Let's slippy. Yeah, yeah, like if it's like 722 00:42:20,280 --> 00:42:24,760 Speaker 1: if it's Chevron or black Rifle coffee or black Rifle coffee. 723 00:42:26,360 --> 00:42:28,280 Speaker 1: But do if if you get an ex c AD, 724 00:42:28,520 --> 00:42:30,680 Speaker 1: I do recommend hiring ex C for all of your 725 00:42:30,719 --> 00:42:33,560 Speaker 1: mercenary needs. Look their monsters, But if you need a 726 00:42:33,560 --> 00:42:36,160 Speaker 1: bunch of men who won't ask questions to kill people 727 00:42:36,200 --> 00:42:40,960 Speaker 1: for you, you've got to go with x C. This 728 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:44,080 Speaker 1: has been a paid advertisement what used to be Blackwater. 729 00:42:45,080 --> 00:42:54,480 Speaker 1: Here's the rest of the ads. Ah, we're back, Caitlin. 730 00:42:55,239 --> 00:42:59,400 Speaker 1: Have you ever paid demand to kill anyone? I really 731 00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:03,800 Speaker 1: haven't no. Okay, well, I guess podcasting is different for everybody. 732 00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:11,560 Speaker 1: So the idea of fitness and the kind of and 733 00:43:11,600 --> 00:43:13,759 Speaker 1: again this is like I don't know if if there 734 00:43:13,880 --> 00:43:17,120 Speaker 1: was no coined eugenics thinking at this time, Eugenics isn't 735 00:43:17,120 --> 00:43:19,960 Speaker 1: really like a popular thing yet in eighteen seventy nine, like, 736 00:43:20,239 --> 00:43:22,799 Speaker 1: but the precursors of it, like people are starting to 737 00:43:22,920 --> 00:43:25,640 Speaker 1: have the ideas that will feed into the eugenics movement 738 00:43:25,640 --> 00:43:28,560 Speaker 1: that dominates the early part of the twentieth century. And 739 00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:32,239 Speaker 1: the kind of this kind of like fitness as proto eugenics. 740 00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:34,160 Speaker 1: One of the people who takes it on is a 741 00:43:34,160 --> 00:43:38,040 Speaker 1: guy named William Blakey. Now, in eighteen seventy nine, Blakey 742 00:43:38,120 --> 00:43:41,000 Speaker 1: writes a book titled How to Get Strong and How 743 00:43:41,080 --> 00:43:44,000 Speaker 1: to Stay So, which is not a bad title for 744 00:43:44,040 --> 00:43:48,000 Speaker 1: an exercise book. Blakey was an endurance athlete with a 745 00:43:48,080 --> 00:43:52,000 Speaker 1: Darwinian attitude towards fitness. His book included much of the 746 00:43:52,040 --> 00:43:55,040 Speaker 1: same sort of exercise advice that Sergeant gave, mixed with 747 00:43:55,080 --> 00:43:57,920 Speaker 1: appeals to patriotisms. You can see where like the eugenics 748 00:43:58,000 --> 00:43:59,840 Speaker 1: nature of this is like this is we need to 749 00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:04,239 Speaker 1: make a nation strong, you know, unsettling stuff. Early on, 750 00:44:04,400 --> 00:44:07,319 Speaker 1: he makes sure to compare American youth to British youth, 751 00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:10,040 Speaker 1: who he claims are in much better shape, capable of 752 00:44:10,120 --> 00:44:13,759 Speaker 1: running miles without breaking a sweat. Quote. Let him who 753 00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:16,120 Speaker 1: thinks that the average American boy would have fared as 754 00:44:16,120 --> 00:44:18,640 Speaker 1: well as these British kids, go down to the public 755 00:44:18,719 --> 00:44:20,800 Speaker 1: bath house and look carefully at a hundred or so 756 00:44:20,880 --> 00:44:22,960 Speaker 1: of them as they tumble about in the water. He 757 00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:25,919 Speaker 1: will see more big heads and slim necks, more poor 758 00:44:26,040 --> 00:44:29,000 Speaker 1: legs and skinny arms and lanky, half built bodies than 759 00:44:29,040 --> 00:44:31,800 Speaker 1: he would ever have imagined the whole neighborhood could produce. 760 00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:35,919 Speaker 1: So he's like, look at a bunch of naked kids 761 00:44:35,920 --> 00:44:39,760 Speaker 1: and tell me how weird they are. Creepy. That's not great, 762 00:44:40,880 --> 00:44:44,320 Speaker 1: that's not great. So this has been a long digression, 763 00:44:44,360 --> 00:44:46,920 Speaker 1: but I think the background is necessary. So when we 764 00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:49,560 Speaker 1: left off our man Bernard, right, he's feeling like ship. 765 00:44:49,600 --> 00:44:52,640 Speaker 1: He's working indoors all day, and he starts like walking about, 766 00:44:52,880 --> 00:44:55,640 Speaker 1: like looking for a way to deal with his health problems. 767 00:44:55,680 --> 00:44:58,759 Speaker 1: And he comes across a gymnasium. This is a three. 768 00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:02,080 Speaker 1: He's fifteen years old, and he sees his first gym 769 00:45:02,120 --> 00:45:04,360 Speaker 1: and he sees a bunch of dudes working out, and again, 770 00:45:04,719 --> 00:45:07,760 Speaker 1: health is ship in the eighteen eighties, right, most people 771 00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:10,759 Speaker 1: are dying from the time they're like four. This is 772 00:45:10,800 --> 00:45:14,040 Speaker 1: his first time seeing healthy people like he sees people 773 00:45:14,040 --> 00:45:17,000 Speaker 1: who have like muscle, and not just because they're at 774 00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:19,359 Speaker 1: a gym, but because it's expensive to go to the gym. 775 00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:22,040 Speaker 1: They they're wealthy, so they're able to feed themselves well, 776 00:45:22,120 --> 00:45:24,239 Speaker 1: and they're of the fairly small number of people at 777 00:45:24,239 --> 00:45:26,440 Speaker 1: that point who are working out regularly. So he sees 778 00:45:26,480 --> 00:45:28,719 Speaker 1: these people, even the least of them, looks like an 779 00:45:28,719 --> 00:45:31,799 Speaker 1: Adonis to him, and he's just immediately like, this is 780 00:45:31,840 --> 00:45:34,360 Speaker 1: what I want to do with my life. I need 781 00:45:34,360 --> 00:45:37,959 Speaker 1: to have this in my life. But the entry fee 782 00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:40,879 Speaker 1: to get started at the gym is fifteen dollars, which 783 00:45:40,920 --> 00:45:42,520 Speaker 1: is more than he makes in a month, so he 784 00:45:42,600 --> 00:45:47,000 Speaker 1: cannot afford to join a gym. Um, but just kind 785 00:45:47,000 --> 00:45:49,360 Speaker 1: of hanging out around the gym, he acquires a copy 786 00:45:49,400 --> 00:45:51,920 Speaker 1: of How to Get Strong and Stay so Uh, and 787 00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:54,920 Speaker 1: he manages to find some used weights, some barbels that 788 00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:57,320 Speaker 1: he can afford, so he buys some weights. He buys 789 00:45:57,360 --> 00:46:00,480 Speaker 1: this book. He goes home and he worked out for 790 00:46:00,480 --> 00:46:04,080 Speaker 1: the first time in his room. He later wrote thereafter, 791 00:46:04,200 --> 00:46:06,400 Speaker 1: I had but one object in view. I would not 792 00:46:06,520 --> 00:46:09,719 Speaker 1: be satisfied until I was a strong man. You know. 793 00:46:09,719 --> 00:46:12,239 Speaker 1: At this point, strong man is like that's like a thing, right, Like, 794 00:46:12,400 --> 00:46:15,520 Speaker 1: because exercise is so new when guys the first time 795 00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:18,520 Speaker 1: guys figured out how to lift big weights, it's like, like, 796 00:46:18,600 --> 00:46:20,560 Speaker 1: you show up like that guy, you can lift a 797 00:46:20,560 --> 00:46:24,920 Speaker 1: bunch of weights. Okay, So he's not filled with rickets 798 00:46:24,960 --> 00:46:29,280 Speaker 1: like the rest of us. So Bernard just like sees 799 00:46:29,320 --> 00:46:33,399 Speaker 1: all these like fit dudes who basically no one else 800 00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:35,799 Speaker 1: looks like because no one else has like the resources 801 00:46:35,880 --> 00:46:39,360 Speaker 1: to do it. And then he's like, my, like, my 802 00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:43,160 Speaker 1: calling is to be a gym bro. Yeah, yeah, that's 803 00:46:43,160 --> 00:46:47,160 Speaker 1: exactly it. I mean it might be hard not to 804 00:46:47,320 --> 00:46:50,359 Speaker 1: because he's basically seeing people who are living close to 805 00:46:50,640 --> 00:46:54,680 Speaker 1: the way the like normal ish people in the twentieth century, 806 00:46:54,680 --> 00:46:57,280 Speaker 1: we're able to live because they have better diet, because 807 00:46:57,280 --> 00:47:00,040 Speaker 1: they have a basic understanding of exercise. And he is 808 00:47:00,080 --> 00:47:03,399 Speaker 1: living in an era in which like, if you only 809 00:47:03,440 --> 00:47:07,680 Speaker 1: had a couple of parasites, you're doing great. Um, right, 810 00:47:07,800 --> 00:47:09,640 Speaker 1: So you get why he might be like he would 811 00:47:09,640 --> 00:47:11,680 Speaker 1: be like, oh my god, this seems so much better 812 00:47:11,719 --> 00:47:16,319 Speaker 1: than my miserable, starving life of disease and death. Um, 813 00:47:16,360 --> 00:47:18,359 Speaker 1: I don't I have a lot of sympathy for him 814 00:47:18,400 --> 00:47:19,880 Speaker 1: wanting to be a Jim bro I guess that's what 815 00:47:19,920 --> 00:47:23,239 Speaker 1: I'm saying. It's not like I don't think I'm sure. 816 00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:25,120 Speaker 1: I know vanity is wrapped up in this because he 817 00:47:25,160 --> 00:47:27,400 Speaker 1: becomes a very vain man. But it's not just vanity. 818 00:47:27,440 --> 00:47:29,719 Speaker 1: It's just like, oh my god, I don't have to 819 00:47:29,760 --> 00:47:32,960 Speaker 1: be sick all my life. Sure that that's a that 820 00:47:33,160 --> 00:47:38,279 Speaker 1: is a motivation that is understandable. Yeah? Yeah. Um, So 821 00:47:38,640 --> 00:47:41,279 Speaker 1: Bernard exercises with these dumbbells, and he comes up with 822 00:47:41,320 --> 00:47:44,160 Speaker 1: other solutions. He finds a ten pound lead bar and 823 00:47:44,200 --> 00:47:46,640 Speaker 1: he wraps it in newspaper and he just stuffs it 824 00:47:46,640 --> 00:47:49,959 Speaker 1: into his shirt every day and goes walking for miles. Um, 825 00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:52,000 Speaker 1: when he comes home at night, he'll just like set 826 00:47:52,040 --> 00:47:55,640 Speaker 1: the bar down next to everyone else's coat. His family 827 00:47:55,680 --> 00:47:57,839 Speaker 1: thinks that he starts to think that he's mentally ill 828 00:47:58,200 --> 00:48:01,479 Speaker 1: because like nobody like exercise is not commonly talked about, 829 00:48:01,480 --> 00:48:03,120 Speaker 1: So like, what the fund is wrong with this kid? 830 00:48:03,320 --> 00:48:06,600 Speaker 1: Why is he carrying a bar round in his shirt? Also, 831 00:48:06,640 --> 00:48:09,279 Speaker 1: it's lead. Can you get lead poisoning that way? Don't? Yeah, 832 00:48:09,280 --> 00:48:12,359 Speaker 1: I mean it's not. This is probably not great for him, 833 00:48:12,400 --> 00:48:17,640 Speaker 1: but also probably not the worst poisoning he's getting. You know, 834 00:48:18,719 --> 00:48:22,320 Speaker 1: he's had a lot of poisoning at this point. Everybody 835 00:48:22,440 --> 00:48:24,720 Speaker 1: was poisoned with a couple of things in those days. 836 00:48:25,600 --> 00:48:28,239 Speaker 1: If you could have given somebody an asbestos milkshake, it 837 00:48:28,239 --> 00:48:32,200 Speaker 1: would have made them healthier. Um, not a great time. 838 00:48:32,840 --> 00:48:36,719 Speaker 1: So Exercise profoundly agrees with Bernard, and he gets in 839 00:48:36,800 --> 00:48:39,839 Speaker 1: a lot better shape. His health problems go away. Um, 840 00:48:39,840 --> 00:48:42,160 Speaker 1: he starts looking good, and he sets out into the 841 00:48:42,200 --> 00:48:44,399 Speaker 1: world again with a new lease on life. And I'm 842 00:48:44,400 --> 00:48:48,080 Speaker 1: gonna quote from a nineteen one article in American Heritage Magazine. 843 00:48:48,080 --> 00:48:52,280 Speaker 1: Now he became a hobo of sorts, writing the rails, 844 00:48:52,320 --> 00:48:55,480 Speaker 1: descending on more of his numerous relations, and working as 845 00:48:55,480 --> 00:48:58,759 Speaker 1: a water boy for a construction gang, as a dentist's assistant, 846 00:48:58,920 --> 00:49:01,920 Speaker 1: a wood chopper, and, in the tradition of Franklin and Twain, 847 00:49:02,239 --> 00:49:04,880 Speaker 1: a printer's devil that's like the assistant of a printer. 848 00:49:05,040 --> 00:49:07,280 Speaker 1: I don't know why they called it a devil. Toward 849 00:49:07,360 --> 00:49:09,640 Speaker 1: the end of the period, while toiling in a coal mine, 850 00:49:09,680 --> 00:49:12,080 Speaker 1: Bernard had one of those moments of revelation that dot 851 00:49:12,120 --> 00:49:15,520 Speaker 1: his recollections. He suddenly saw that his mission in life 852 00:49:15,520 --> 00:49:18,200 Speaker 1: was to preach the gospel of health. He got busy. 853 00:49:18,320 --> 00:49:20,919 Speaker 1: Returning to St. Louis, he saved enough money to join 854 00:49:20,960 --> 00:49:24,440 Speaker 1: a real gymnasium, got acquainted with books like William Blakey's 855 00:49:24,440 --> 00:49:26,840 Speaker 1: How to Get Strong, and eventually rented a studio and 856 00:49:26,920 --> 00:49:31,000 Speaker 1: hung out a sign that said Bernard McFadden Kinniss Therapist, 857 00:49:31,160 --> 00:49:34,879 Speaker 1: teacher of higher physical Culture. As to his change of name, 858 00:49:34,960 --> 00:49:38,560 Speaker 1: he later explained the picturesque appealed to me. I wanted 859 00:49:38,600 --> 00:49:41,520 Speaker 1: something out of the ordinary. As to the origin of 860 00:49:41,560 --> 00:49:45,040 Speaker 1: the word kinness therapist, he admitted to having no idea, 861 00:49:45,480 --> 00:49:49,560 Speaker 1: so he makes up both the name Bernard, which I've 862 00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:52,439 Speaker 1: I've heard one allegation it sounded like a lion's roar 863 00:49:52,480 --> 00:49:59,600 Speaker 1: to him, so he thinks it sounds stronger. It's very funny. 864 00:50:00,480 --> 00:50:02,279 Speaker 1: Um and Kenne's Therapies is like, yeah, I don't know 865 00:50:02,280 --> 00:50:04,360 Speaker 1: where that came from. Like I just felt like that that, 866 00:50:04,440 --> 00:50:06,359 Speaker 1: Like I just wanted to make up a you could 867 00:50:06,440 --> 00:50:10,120 Speaker 1: just do that, right, Like there's no Yeah, that sounds 868 00:50:10,200 --> 00:50:16,920 Speaker 1: like it doesn't sound unlike no canology, you're not. It 869 00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:19,160 Speaker 1: makes sense because like Kenneth, I think it's just basically 870 00:50:19,200 --> 00:50:22,560 Speaker 1: movement the movement therapist. That is like what a personal 871 00:50:22,600 --> 00:50:26,960 Speaker 1: trainer at its best should be. Um. So it's not 872 00:50:27,080 --> 00:50:30,200 Speaker 1: like he's not again, he's not like Snake Oily at 873 00:50:30,280 --> 00:50:33,800 Speaker 1: this point, like he's actually selling something real Now nobody 874 00:50:33,840 --> 00:50:36,600 Speaker 1: has a great understanding of like what's actually good for 875 00:50:36,640 --> 00:50:39,360 Speaker 1: you and what's actually bad for what exercises may do 876 00:50:39,440 --> 00:50:42,160 Speaker 1: more harm than good. But that's not his fault. That's 877 00:50:42,200 --> 00:50:45,680 Speaker 1: just like we're just now figuring this stuff out. Um. 878 00:50:45,840 --> 00:50:48,480 Speaker 1: But his basic premises at this point are like, I'm 879 00:50:48,480 --> 00:50:50,880 Speaker 1: going to help people move their bodies and lift heavier 880 00:50:50,920 --> 00:50:54,160 Speaker 1: things until they get stronger, which is a broadly positive 881 00:50:54,239 --> 00:50:58,040 Speaker 1: thing to do. Um. So, Kenne's therapy may not have 882 00:50:58,040 --> 00:51:00,399 Speaker 1: been an actual term, but it was a really enough 883 00:51:00,440 --> 00:51:03,480 Speaker 1: thing and Bernard was good at it. His studio did 884 00:51:03,520 --> 00:51:06,880 Speaker 1: well in large part due to his undeniably brilliant slogan 885 00:51:07,400 --> 00:51:11,920 Speaker 1: weakness is a crime, don't be a criminal. What I 886 00:51:12,040 --> 00:51:17,280 Speaker 1: fucking love that? That's that is everything about like fitness 887 00:51:17,280 --> 00:51:20,399 Speaker 1: culture today too, Like it's that's that's cross fit, right, 888 00:51:20,440 --> 00:51:23,239 Speaker 1: Like that's all of it. It's so good. There's just like, no, 889 00:51:23,520 --> 00:51:27,959 Speaker 1: he doesn't dress it up at all. That is so aggressive. 890 00:51:28,320 --> 00:51:31,760 Speaker 1: And yet I imagine for a certain type of person 891 00:51:31,800 --> 00:51:36,680 Speaker 1: who sees that type of marketing very effective. Yeah, he's 892 00:51:36,800 --> 00:51:39,480 Speaker 1: very good, Like he's he's very successful from an early 893 00:51:39,520 --> 00:51:43,040 Speaker 1: stage at this um and he's again like he's he's 894 00:51:43,080 --> 00:51:45,440 Speaker 1: grasping at the thing that all of these people will 895 00:51:45,480 --> 00:51:48,400 Speaker 1: wind up basically saying they just put a little bit 896 00:51:48,400 --> 00:51:51,640 Speaker 1: more of a bow on it. Now. Bernar may have 897 00:51:51,760 --> 00:51:55,440 Speaker 1: been the first personal trainer in history. Um Like, it's 898 00:51:55,480 --> 00:51:57,279 Speaker 1: kind of I get kind of depends on how you 899 00:51:57,600 --> 00:51:59,680 Speaker 1: on how you, uh you define it, but he may 900 00:51:59,680 --> 00:52:00,880 Speaker 1: have been like the first person to be like, my 901 00:52:00,960 --> 00:52:02,960 Speaker 1: job is going to be to one on one train 902 00:52:03,040 --> 00:52:05,879 Speaker 1: people how to be physically healthier through exercise. He might 903 00:52:05,920 --> 00:52:10,040 Speaker 1: be the person who invented that entire field. Um so 904 00:52:10,360 --> 00:52:12,680 Speaker 1: he asserted at the very least, he helped to invent 905 00:52:12,719 --> 00:52:16,240 Speaker 1: the entire discipline. And this is going to happen a bunch. 906 00:52:16,600 --> 00:52:20,320 Speaker 1: It is actually kind of boggling how many different career 907 00:52:20,360 --> 00:52:23,360 Speaker 1: fields this guy either invince whole cloth or helps to 908 00:52:23,440 --> 00:52:28,240 Speaker 1: invent um. He is a tremendously influential person. So uh, 909 00:52:28,280 --> 00:52:31,719 Speaker 1: he invinced personal training kind of uh. And in order 910 00:52:31,760 --> 00:52:35,239 Speaker 1: to make extra cash, he works as a wrestling match organizer. 911 00:52:35,600 --> 00:52:39,840 Speaker 1: He also experiments constantly with different health treatments. Mostly this 912 00:52:39,880 --> 00:52:43,360 Speaker 1: would mean periodically fasting and restricting his caloric intake to 913 00:52:43,440 --> 00:52:47,480 Speaker 1: an extreme degree in order to lose weight. While exercising constantly, 914 00:52:48,239 --> 00:52:52,960 Speaker 1: he would regularly gain and then drop like thirty pounds. Um, 915 00:52:53,000 --> 00:52:55,360 Speaker 1: I think he had a needing disorder. I'm actually certain 916 00:52:55,440 --> 00:52:59,479 Speaker 1: he had a needing disorder. Um, because you hear about 917 00:52:59,480 --> 00:53:02,760 Speaker 1: this regular he has this obsession with total caloric restriction 918 00:53:02,800 --> 00:53:05,720 Speaker 1: in order to drop weight very quickly, like he's purging. 919 00:53:05,920 --> 00:53:07,560 Speaker 1: You know, I don't know that he binges, but he's 920 00:53:07,560 --> 00:53:12,719 Speaker 1: certainly purges. Um, not by puking, but like total caloric restriction. 921 00:53:12,800 --> 00:53:17,680 Speaker 1: That's eating disorder stuff. Right, Um, I mean I've been there. Yeah. 922 00:53:18,480 --> 00:53:22,360 Speaker 1: In his own writings, Bernard build this as scientific experimentation. 923 00:53:22,520 --> 00:53:24,680 Speaker 1: He wrote up his findings and submitted them to a 924 00:53:24,719 --> 00:53:28,800 Speaker 1: wide variety of newspapers and magazines. His entire educational career 925 00:53:28,800 --> 00:53:31,000 Speaker 1: at this point amounted to a handful of odd days 926 00:53:31,000 --> 00:53:33,600 Speaker 1: at school to avoid truancy court. So he was not 927 00:53:33,640 --> 00:53:37,480 Speaker 1: good at writing, like he's barely able to write, but 928 00:53:37,680 --> 00:53:40,520 Speaker 1: he seemed to sense instinctively that writing was going to 929 00:53:40,560 --> 00:53:43,000 Speaker 1: be crucial to his success. So while he's working as 930 00:53:43,040 --> 00:53:45,520 Speaker 1: a personal trainer and it's like a wrestling barker, he 931 00:53:45,640 --> 00:53:49,399 Speaker 1: goes back to school um in order to uh learn 932 00:53:49,440 --> 00:53:51,760 Speaker 1: how to write, and he takes a part time job, 933 00:53:51,920 --> 00:53:53,879 Speaker 1: a more formal part time job to help with us 934 00:53:53,880 --> 00:53:57,240 Speaker 1: at the Bunker Hill Military Academy as a pe coach. 935 00:53:57,719 --> 00:54:00,480 Speaker 1: And it was here working as an early p e coach. 936 00:54:00,560 --> 00:54:02,560 Speaker 1: This is not a common job at the time that 937 00:54:02,640 --> 00:54:06,120 Speaker 1: Bernard would be struck by his greatest revelation from Mr. 938 00:54:06,160 --> 00:54:11,600 Speaker 1: America quote for simplicity's sake, Bernard had temporarily abandoned his 939 00:54:11,680 --> 00:54:14,120 Speaker 1: two meals a day habit for three squares served at 940 00:54:14,120 --> 00:54:16,400 Speaker 1: the academy. Near the end of the spring term, he 941 00:54:16,440 --> 00:54:19,239 Speaker 1: felt the early symptoms of pneumonia coming on and immediately 942 00:54:19,280 --> 00:54:22,640 Speaker 1: diagnosed his relative gluttony as the cause. Bernard had noticed 943 00:54:22,680 --> 00:54:25,759 Speaker 1: that farm animals became well by abstaining from food when ill. 944 00:54:26,080 --> 00:54:28,719 Speaker 1: He immediately cut his own intake back to a couple 945 00:54:28,719 --> 00:54:30,800 Speaker 1: of pieces of fruit for a day. By the second 946 00:54:30,840 --> 00:54:33,200 Speaker 1: day of fasting, his chest had begun to clear. By 947 00:54:33,200 --> 00:54:35,759 Speaker 1: the fourth day, the inflammation had all but vanished. His 948 00:54:35,800 --> 00:54:39,920 Speaker 1: fitness philosophy was starting to gel lots of exercise, limited calories, 949 00:54:40,000 --> 00:54:45,600 Speaker 1: non traditional cures. So he's making a significant illogical leap here, 950 00:54:45,640 --> 00:54:48,880 Speaker 1: which is that it is true sick animals stop eating. 951 00:54:49,040 --> 00:54:51,160 Speaker 1: That's not because it helps them get better. It's because 952 00:54:51,200 --> 00:54:54,320 Speaker 1: they might die and they as a general, the animals 953 00:54:54,360 --> 00:54:56,960 Speaker 1: he's talking about are like hurd animals, and if you're 954 00:54:56,960 --> 00:54:59,640 Speaker 1: a herd animal and you get sick, you want to 955 00:54:59,680 --> 00:55:02,680 Speaker 1: stop eating because there's a good chance you'll die, and 956 00:55:02,719 --> 00:55:05,680 Speaker 1: every calorie you eat while dying is calories that the 957 00:55:05,680 --> 00:55:08,080 Speaker 1: rest of the animals in the herd don't get. It's 958 00:55:08,120 --> 00:55:11,040 Speaker 1: the same reason why if you're slaughtering an animal like 959 00:55:11,080 --> 00:55:14,040 Speaker 1: a sheep or something, um a lot of them and chickens, 960 00:55:14,080 --> 00:55:15,719 Speaker 1: it's the same way. There's a way to basically like 961 00:55:16,040 --> 00:55:18,080 Speaker 1: if you position them properly, that kind of turn off. 962 00:55:18,120 --> 00:55:19,360 Speaker 1: Like if you get them on their back and you 963 00:55:19,360 --> 00:55:20,960 Speaker 1: get like a knee on their neck, Like it's not 964 00:55:21,000 --> 00:55:23,520 Speaker 1: like you're not like shoving them super hard, but it's 965 00:55:23,560 --> 00:55:25,520 Speaker 1: just kind of an instinct. And the idea is that like, oh, 966 00:55:25,600 --> 00:55:28,359 Speaker 1: they've gotten caught by a predator, it's best if they 967 00:55:28,400 --> 00:55:31,080 Speaker 1: just kind of let it happen so that the rest 968 00:55:31,080 --> 00:55:33,040 Speaker 1: of the herd can get away. Like there's a bunch 969 00:55:33,040 --> 00:55:36,239 Speaker 1: of instincts like that in prey animals to where like, well, 970 00:55:36,800 --> 00:55:40,160 Speaker 1: what's best is what's best is not what's best for 971 00:55:40,200 --> 00:55:42,879 Speaker 1: the individual, it's what's best for the hurt and so like, oh, 972 00:55:43,160 --> 00:55:45,720 Speaker 1: I'm dying of some disease, I'm going to stop eating 973 00:55:45,760 --> 00:55:47,600 Speaker 1: so that everybody else stays fed. You know, I did 974 00:55:47,640 --> 00:55:51,759 Speaker 1: not realize that was like an instinctive thing among herd 975 00:55:51,800 --> 00:55:55,000 Speaker 1: animals that do that kind of stuff. The herd does better, 976 00:55:55,120 --> 00:56:01,440 Speaker 1: you know. Um, So, well, it's amazing. He's very wrong 977 00:56:01,480 --> 00:56:04,600 Speaker 1: about what's happening. And you also you listen to it's like, 978 00:56:04,840 --> 00:56:07,719 Speaker 1: well I did most like most people get sick once 979 00:56:07,760 --> 00:56:09,720 Speaker 1: a year or so, at least, you know, at some point, 980 00:56:10,040 --> 00:56:12,319 Speaker 1: and it usually doesn't last four days. It's usually over 981 00:56:12,320 --> 00:56:13,920 Speaker 1: in a day or two. So like, it wasn't the 982 00:56:13,960 --> 00:56:16,480 Speaker 1: starving that got better, it's you waited four days and 983 00:56:16,480 --> 00:56:22,040 Speaker 1: eventually stopped being deserted feeling. But he correlates the fact 984 00:56:22,040 --> 00:56:24,800 Speaker 1: that he's starving himself because he likes to starve himself 985 00:56:24,840 --> 00:56:27,560 Speaker 1: with the fact that he gets better anyway. You know, 986 00:56:27,719 --> 00:56:30,200 Speaker 1: it's unfortunate. This is the start of what will be 987 00:56:30,280 --> 00:56:35,000 Speaker 1: a series of unfortunate logical leaps that Bernard makes after 988 00:56:35,080 --> 00:56:37,279 Speaker 1: a year at school, like as a pe teacher and 989 00:56:37,320 --> 00:56:39,760 Speaker 1: as he's also taking classes, so a year both teaching 990 00:56:39,840 --> 00:56:44,879 Speaker 1: and taking classes. He's he's a dedicate. He's a fucking workaholic, 991 00:56:44,960 --> 00:56:48,640 Speaker 1: you know, he's I think he's got this attitude. You 992 00:56:48,680 --> 00:56:50,719 Speaker 1: do see this in a lot of people with backgrounds 993 00:56:50,719 --> 00:56:53,719 Speaker 1: as difficult as his, whether they're like I survived childhood, 994 00:56:54,200 --> 00:56:56,640 Speaker 1: like and I'm going to spend every second that I'm 995 00:56:56,680 --> 00:57:00,800 Speaker 1: awake working hard on things because like I I I 996 00:57:00,840 --> 00:57:02,840 Speaker 1: don't know. I think because like he's been that close 997 00:57:02,880 --> 00:57:05,640 Speaker 1: to death. Death was such a constant part of his childhood. 998 00:57:05,800 --> 00:57:08,239 Speaker 1: I think maybe that that's for and it's not just him. 999 00:57:08,239 --> 00:57:09,640 Speaker 1: A lot of people who have this kind of an 1000 00:57:09,680 --> 00:57:13,000 Speaker 1: upbringing this period become these like dynamos, and I think 1001 00:57:13,000 --> 00:57:15,360 Speaker 1: it's just because they can't stand to waste any time. 1002 00:57:15,400 --> 00:57:19,920 Speaker 1: You know. Also, there's no Internet, Like you're not going 1003 00:57:20,000 --> 00:57:21,760 Speaker 1: to hang out on Twitter or anything like you got 1004 00:57:21,840 --> 00:57:25,439 Speaker 1: like there's nothing literally nothing to do, So what else? 1005 00:57:25,560 --> 00:57:27,560 Speaker 1: What else? Are you gonna have right, you gotta take 1006 00:57:27,560 --> 00:57:29,880 Speaker 1: a bunch of classes and work as a which work 1007 00:57:29,920 --> 00:57:32,200 Speaker 1: as a personal trainer, and learn how to write and 1008 00:57:32,320 --> 00:57:37,080 Speaker 1: starve yourself your shelf and work out constantly. Yeah. After 1009 00:57:37,120 --> 00:57:39,840 Speaker 1: a year at school, he applied this new healthcare revelation 1010 00:57:39,880 --> 00:57:42,760 Speaker 1: to wrestling, and he used his ability to starve himself 1011 00:57:42,800 --> 00:57:45,400 Speaker 1: to train as a middle or heavyweight fighter. So he 1012 00:57:45,440 --> 00:57:47,440 Speaker 1: would he would get build up a bunch of muscle 1013 00:57:47,480 --> 00:57:50,680 Speaker 1: mass and and you know he's a big guy, so 1014 00:57:50,720 --> 00:57:53,240 Speaker 1: he would be like a heavyweight. But then he would purge, 1015 00:57:53,240 --> 00:57:56,800 Speaker 1: stop eating for several days and lose thirty pounds, um. 1016 00:57:56,880 --> 00:58:00,000 Speaker 1: And then he would go fight wrestlers who were as heavy, 1017 00:58:00,200 --> 00:58:03,320 Speaker 1: who were like he would he would basically drop down 1018 00:58:03,400 --> 00:58:05,840 Speaker 1: to a lower weight class, but with people who he 1019 00:58:05,920 --> 00:58:08,240 Speaker 1: was stronger than because he'd been training as a heavy weight. 1020 00:58:08,240 --> 00:58:10,080 Speaker 1: But he'd go down like a middle weight or something, 1021 00:58:10,440 --> 00:58:13,000 Speaker 1: and he would gamble on the outcome and win. Um. 1022 00:58:13,040 --> 00:58:16,840 Speaker 1: He was actually really good at which is a wild 1023 00:58:16,920 --> 00:58:21,800 Speaker 1: scamp to run. So he'd be like disproportionately more muscular 1024 00:58:21,840 --> 00:58:25,800 Speaker 1: and stronger than them. Okay, yeah, yeah, it's a it's 1025 00:58:25,800 --> 00:58:28,880 Speaker 1: a thing. Um. Yeah, And I'm sure the fact that like, 1026 00:58:28,920 --> 00:58:31,240 Speaker 1: nobody's that great at being healthy at this point makes 1027 00:58:31,240 --> 00:58:34,880 Speaker 1: it easier for him because like, yeah, yeah, he was 1028 00:58:34,960 --> 00:58:37,920 Speaker 1: briefly the most popular wrestler in the St. Louis area. 1029 00:58:38,160 --> 00:58:40,640 Speaker 1: His fame got him a fancy and well paying job 1030 00:58:40,760 --> 00:58:43,680 Speaker 1: as a pe teacher at a better school, where he 1031 00:58:43,720 --> 00:58:47,240 Speaker 1: wrote his first novel, a near plagiarism of Jane Austin 1032 00:58:47,320 --> 00:58:55,080 Speaker 1: based around to Swolldu titles The Athlete a novel. I 1033 00:58:55,160 --> 00:58:58,400 Speaker 1: was like, wait a minute, yeah, I don't know he 1034 00:58:58,440 --> 00:59:02,160 Speaker 1: had aspiration. Yeah, he ate it. He takes Jane Austen 1035 00:59:02,240 --> 00:59:05,440 Speaker 1: and replaces like the lady protagonist with like a jack dude. 1036 00:59:05,640 --> 00:59:09,000 Speaker 1: And the book is titled The Athletes Conquest. So again 1037 00:59:10,960 --> 00:59:13,160 Speaker 1: let me. I mean, you can guess. You can guess 1038 00:59:13,200 --> 00:59:18,000 Speaker 1: what's in that book, right, I can. So the book 1039 00:59:18,040 --> 00:59:20,800 Speaker 1: is terrible and no publisher will take it, so Bernard's 1040 00:59:20,800 --> 00:59:24,080 Speaker 1: self publishes it. Um. He's popular enough as a teacher 1041 00:59:24,080 --> 00:59:25,560 Speaker 1: that all of the kids at his school buy it 1042 00:59:25,600 --> 00:59:30,040 Speaker 1: and it does okay. Um. In three, at age twenty five, 1043 00:59:30,200 --> 00:59:34,120 Speaker 1: Bernar moves to New York City. At this point, yeah, 1044 00:59:34,160 --> 00:59:38,200 Speaker 1: oh my gosh, Yeah, he's doing a lot too much, 1045 00:59:38,280 --> 00:59:41,560 Speaker 1: some would say much, so he moves to the Big Apple, 1046 00:59:41,680 --> 00:59:44,520 Speaker 1: and his years of teaching pe and coaching people had 1047 00:59:44,520 --> 00:59:47,680 Speaker 1: convinced him that his brilliant health wisdom needed a bigger audience. 1048 00:59:47,720 --> 00:59:49,280 Speaker 1: It wasn't going to be enough to just work one 1049 00:59:49,320 --> 00:59:50,760 Speaker 1: on one or even just like teach a class of 1050 00:59:50,800 --> 00:59:52,880 Speaker 1: people at a time. He's got to reach the nation. 1051 00:59:53,040 --> 00:59:55,560 Speaker 1: You know. He decides, like, I've learned too much about 1052 00:59:55,600 --> 01:00:03,480 Speaker 1: starving myself and plagiarizing Jane Austen from American Heritage quote. 1053 01:00:03,960 --> 01:00:07,240 Speaker 1: Almost immediately after leasing an apartment in New York, McFadden 1054 01:00:07,280 --> 01:00:11,960 Speaker 1: presented a physical culture matinee and invited the press. Um. 1055 01:00:12,000 --> 01:00:15,080 Speaker 1: A local newspaper accepted and reported that the Professor, as 1056 01:00:15,160 --> 01:00:18,680 Speaker 1: McFadden was now calling himself, chatted imposed in an interesting 1057 01:00:18,720 --> 01:00:21,200 Speaker 1: way for over an hour. He's just like talking and 1058 01:00:21,280 --> 01:00:25,080 Speaker 1: like showing off his muscles. So he's just kind of 1059 01:00:25,080 --> 01:00:29,720 Speaker 1: doing like spoken word, but mostly just like flexing. Yeah, 1060 01:00:29,800 --> 01:00:33,520 Speaker 1: he's he's literally just like flexing and talking where he's 1061 01:00:34,000 --> 01:00:39,040 Speaker 1: checked these muscles out. Man who's not dying of goiters. 1062 01:00:40,880 --> 01:00:44,200 Speaker 1: Look at how unswollen his ankles are. And this had 1063 01:00:44,240 --> 01:00:47,640 Speaker 1: an audience. Yeah, it's very popular. A lot of a 1064 01:00:47,680 --> 01:00:50,080 Speaker 1: lot of journalist show up again, nothing is going on 1065 01:00:50,320 --> 01:00:53,000 Speaker 1: like there is. There is absolutely nothing happening in the 1066 01:00:53,000 --> 01:00:57,200 Speaker 1: world at this point, so they're just a fit man 1067 01:00:57,280 --> 01:01:04,680 Speaker 1: is talking in town sending or times. So McFadden's other 1068 01:01:04,720 --> 01:01:07,360 Speaker 1: passion was for his ideas. They had to do with 1069 01:01:07,400 --> 01:01:10,840 Speaker 1: the titanic benefits of exercise, the right foods and periodic fasts, 1070 01:01:10,840 --> 01:01:13,480 Speaker 1: and the extreme perils of among other things. Of course 1071 01:01:13,520 --> 01:01:18,280 Speaker 1: it's white bread, doctor's, vaccination, overeating, and prudery. So these 1072 01:01:18,320 --> 01:01:20,200 Speaker 1: are the things that he's flexing. He's talking about, Like, 1073 01:01:20,440 --> 01:01:23,440 Speaker 1: course it's are bad for you. True white bread is 1074 01:01:23,440 --> 01:01:27,520 Speaker 1: bad for you. Also true doctors are bad for you, honestly, 1075 01:01:27,560 --> 01:01:31,960 Speaker 1: and this time not wrong. Vaccinations are bad for you, 1076 01:01:32,160 --> 01:01:35,600 Speaker 1: not true, but understandable that it's wrong. Overeating is bad 1077 01:01:35,640 --> 01:01:38,800 Speaker 1: for you, accurate, and it's bad to be approved. And 1078 01:01:38,840 --> 01:01:41,040 Speaker 1: what he's meaning about this is that, like the human 1079 01:01:41,080 --> 01:01:45,080 Speaker 1: body is incredibly like verboten at this point, right, Like 1080 01:01:45,160 --> 01:01:48,280 Speaker 1: you don't like even in like health textbooks, it's it's 1081 01:01:48,320 --> 01:01:51,240 Speaker 1: considered kind of risque to show the naked human form. 1082 01:01:51,320 --> 01:01:54,040 Speaker 1: And he's like, no, people should look at naked human bodies, 1083 01:01:54,080 --> 01:01:55,800 Speaker 1: like if you want to see how you're supposed to 1084 01:01:55,840 --> 01:01:58,080 Speaker 1: exercise you should have like a guy who's mostly naked 1085 01:01:58,120 --> 01:01:59,720 Speaker 1: on their lifting stuff so you can see how it 1086 01:01:59,800 --> 01:02:03,160 Speaker 1: is he's moving and like, um, he's a big believer 1087 01:02:03,400 --> 01:02:08,000 Speaker 1: in the human in the nudity as like not being 1088 01:02:08,880 --> 01:02:13,080 Speaker 1: a sinful shameful thing. Yeah, which is also good, right, 1089 01:02:13,120 --> 01:02:16,840 Speaker 1: Like that's good. That's I love nudity. Yeah, big fan. 1090 01:02:17,560 --> 01:02:20,880 Speaker 1: So the physical culture of Matinee was probably McFadden's first 1091 01:02:20,920 --> 01:02:24,400 Speaker 1: step as a proper fitness influencer. Now that he wasn't 1092 01:02:24,400 --> 01:02:28,000 Speaker 1: teaching people how to exercise, he was giving populations sweeping 1093 01:02:28,040 --> 01:02:31,280 Speaker 1: healthcare advice based on his own ideas and opinions. And again, 1094 01:02:31,320 --> 01:02:33,760 Speaker 1: these are not all they're even mostly bad at this 1095 01:02:33,840 --> 01:02:36,800 Speaker 1: point of course, it's are they're not as bad like 1096 01:02:37,160 --> 01:02:38,760 Speaker 1: I think there's been a lot of like, oh, they 1097 01:02:38,760 --> 01:02:41,479 Speaker 1: were making people like constantly draw, like I know people 1098 01:02:41,480 --> 01:02:43,840 Speaker 1: who are like way into Courset's and there's plenty of 1099 01:02:43,840 --> 01:02:46,720 Speaker 1: ways to do where it's fine. Um, white bread though 1100 01:02:46,800 --> 01:02:49,480 Speaker 1: is like is trash, Like it's fine if you enjoy it, 1101 01:02:49,520 --> 01:02:51,640 Speaker 1: but it's not. There's not a lot of nutritional value 1102 01:02:51,680 --> 01:02:55,280 Speaker 1: and whitebread for you. Yeah, over eating is something you 1103 01:02:55,280 --> 01:02:58,440 Speaker 1: should avoid if possible, and obviously being apprud is not 1104 01:02:58,520 --> 01:03:02,680 Speaker 1: good for you. Um. Bernard's rejection of prudery was tied 1105 01:03:02,720 --> 01:03:04,880 Speaker 1: directly to his love of fitness. Again, he likes these 1106 01:03:04,960 --> 01:03:08,280 Speaker 1: naked He likes books that are showing people like yoga 1107 01:03:08,320 --> 01:03:10,520 Speaker 1: books and stuff that is yoga starting to be a 1108 01:03:10,520 --> 01:03:12,520 Speaker 1: big thing in this period of time, and he loves 1109 01:03:12,520 --> 01:03:15,080 Speaker 1: these yoga books of people who are like nearly naked. Um. 1110 01:03:15,080 --> 01:03:17,520 Speaker 1: And he thinks it's he thinks accurately that like, yeah, 1111 01:03:17,520 --> 01:03:19,680 Speaker 1: it's important. You gotta you can't have somebody wearing like 1112 01:03:19,760 --> 01:03:21,760 Speaker 1: six layers of dresses showing you how to do a 1113 01:03:21,840 --> 01:03:26,520 Speaker 1: yoga pose. You're not gonna know what it looks like. Um. Unfortunately, 1114 01:03:26,520 --> 01:03:29,400 Speaker 1: Bernard's lifelong hatred of vaccines and doctors, which by this 1115 01:03:29,440 --> 01:03:32,320 Speaker 1: point have gotten to be a lot less nightmarish in 1116 01:03:32,360 --> 01:03:35,680 Speaker 1: medieval um that is, also makes it into his advice. 1117 01:03:36,120 --> 01:03:39,240 Speaker 1: And again medical science isn't great at the time, but 1118 01:03:39,520 --> 01:03:42,600 Speaker 1: enraging against those things, he unknowingly set a pattern that's 1119 01:03:42,640 --> 01:03:44,880 Speaker 1: still going strong a hundred and thirty years later, because 1120 01:03:44,880 --> 01:03:48,040 Speaker 1: he's just like, fuck doctors, all you need is exercise, 1121 01:03:48,120 --> 01:03:50,200 Speaker 1: which is the same thing the people who have gotten 1122 01:03:50,360 --> 01:03:53,800 Speaker 1: made this pandemic so much worse. Also, believed right, you 1123 01:03:53,800 --> 01:03:56,000 Speaker 1: could draw at e lect lot a direct line from 1124 01:03:56,040 --> 01:03:59,800 Speaker 1: that to to mc fadden. Um. And again I don't 1125 01:03:59,800 --> 01:04:01,720 Speaker 1: know that he would have been the same guy had 1126 01:04:01,720 --> 01:04:04,880 Speaker 1: he been born a hundred and thirty years later, you know. Um, 1127 01:04:04,960 --> 01:04:09,640 Speaker 1: But yeah, I mean, who knows if his vaccination experience 1128 01:04:09,680 --> 01:04:14,320 Speaker 1: as a kid is I didn't get typhus as opposed 1129 01:04:14,360 --> 01:04:17,280 Speaker 1: to I nearly died for six straight months. He'd probably 1130 01:04:17,280 --> 01:04:19,880 Speaker 1: just be like an Abercrombie model where he's just like 1131 01:04:19,920 --> 01:04:23,520 Speaker 1: really jacked and loves going to the gym, like you know. 1132 01:04:23,640 --> 01:04:27,080 Speaker 1: And maybe he might still be plagiarizing Jane Austen. Who 1133 01:04:27,120 --> 01:04:29,800 Speaker 1: knows who doesn't plagiarize a little bit of Ji. I mean, 1134 01:04:29,840 --> 01:04:33,080 Speaker 1: my novel is just a plagiarism of Jane Austen and 1135 01:04:33,200 --> 01:04:37,400 Speaker 1: mine too, And yeah, everybody's there's only been one book written, 1136 01:04:37,680 --> 01:04:41,400 Speaker 1: and it's I don't remember any Jane Austen titles. Phill 1137 01:04:41,440 --> 01:04:44,120 Speaker 1: it in finished the joke for Pride and Prejudice. Pride 1138 01:04:44,120 --> 01:04:48,640 Speaker 1: and Prejudice. That's the only book, Pride and Prejudice. Um. 1139 01:04:48,720 --> 01:04:52,800 Speaker 1: So the Physical Culture Matinee was a success at drawing attention, 1140 01:04:53,000 --> 01:04:55,320 Speaker 1: but a failure at making money, and after two weeks 1141 01:04:55,360 --> 01:04:59,080 Speaker 1: of like waiting for all of this pr to turn 1142 01:04:59,120 --> 01:05:02,400 Speaker 1: into cash. Bernard is on the verge of bankruptcy, and 1143 01:05:02,440 --> 01:05:05,800 Speaker 1: at that point when he's desperate, a successful actor, like 1144 01:05:05,840 --> 01:05:08,440 Speaker 1: a stage actor who's huge in New York City, walks 1145 01:05:08,480 --> 01:05:10,760 Speaker 1: into the door of his office as a personal trainer 1146 01:05:10,960 --> 01:05:13,080 Speaker 1: and asks how much is it going to cost to 1147 01:05:13,120 --> 01:05:15,880 Speaker 1: get me in shape for a role? This is the 1148 01:05:15,880 --> 01:05:19,080 Speaker 1: first time this has ever happened, and Bernard thus invinced 1149 01:05:19,080 --> 01:05:21,040 Speaker 1: what I think is like his third career field at 1150 01:05:21,040 --> 01:05:24,880 Speaker 1: this point body Sculptor to the Stars. So this is 1151 01:05:24,880 --> 01:05:26,720 Speaker 1: the first time like a famous actor is like, I 1152 01:05:26,800 --> 01:05:29,560 Speaker 1: need to get jacked for a role. Can you help me? 1153 01:05:29,600 --> 01:05:32,320 Speaker 1: And he's like, yeah, absolutely. Um this is like I 1154 01:05:32,320 --> 01:05:34,240 Speaker 1: think he convinced this, Like this is like how all 1155 01:05:34,320 --> 01:05:37,880 Speaker 1: like Camaio nan Gianni just like got ridiculously stall. Like 1156 01:05:37,960 --> 01:05:40,160 Speaker 1: this is the start of that entire career field. Is 1157 01:05:40,160 --> 01:05:43,400 Speaker 1: Bernard being like, oh, ship, if I get this famous 1158 01:05:43,480 --> 01:05:47,120 Speaker 1: dude like ripped, that's gonna bring me be cast in 1159 01:05:47,200 --> 01:05:51,120 Speaker 1: the eternals. Yeah, you know he can be cast. Chris 1160 01:05:51,160 --> 01:05:53,760 Speaker 1: Pratt can go. I mean, I'm sorry to bring up 1161 01:05:53,840 --> 01:06:00,280 Speaker 1: Chris Pratt that ship, but like, yeah, this is a thing. It. Yeah, 1162 01:06:00,360 --> 01:06:03,919 Speaker 1: Chris Pratt wouldn't be nothing without Bernard McFadden, nothing less 1163 01:06:03,920 --> 01:06:06,600 Speaker 1: than ship beneath our feet. Do you think he would 1164 01:06:06,640 --> 01:06:10,120 Speaker 1: be Mr. Guardian of the Galaxy. No, No, we'd spit 1165 01:06:10,200 --> 01:06:14,920 Speaker 1: on him like we did sit on him anyway, because 1166 01:06:14,920 --> 01:06:21,280 Speaker 1: he's a fucking loser. Um, he's very rich and successful 1167 01:06:21,280 --> 01:06:24,760 Speaker 1: asshole unfortunately, but anyway, whatever, most of them are. So 1168 01:06:25,440 --> 01:06:28,840 Speaker 1: Bernard McFadden becomes a body sculptor to the stars and 1169 01:06:28,960 --> 01:06:32,320 Speaker 1: he gets suddenly just a flood of customers. Right. It 1170 01:06:32,600 --> 01:06:34,560 Speaker 1: always has worked that if you can show like, hey, 1171 01:06:34,600 --> 01:06:37,479 Speaker 1: this famous person is jacked by doing this one simple trick, 1172 01:06:37,720 --> 01:06:39,120 Speaker 1: a bunch of people will be like, well I could 1173 01:06:39,120 --> 01:06:41,480 Speaker 1: be famous too if I just got jacked, maybe that 1174 01:06:41,480 --> 01:06:44,360 Speaker 1: will make me famous. You know. Um, the human brain 1175 01:06:44,400 --> 01:06:47,000 Speaker 1: isn't a magical thing. So in short order, Bernard has 1176 01:06:47,040 --> 01:06:48,760 Speaker 1: more business than he knows what to do with, and 1177 01:06:48,760 --> 01:06:51,680 Speaker 1: he becomes a minor celebrity himself, getting the city's top 1178 01:06:51,720 --> 01:06:54,360 Speaker 1: celebrity photographer to agree to do a photo shoot of 1179 01:06:54,400 --> 01:06:57,760 Speaker 1: his body. Now, this famous photographer is going to come 1180 01:06:57,760 --> 01:07:01,240 Speaker 1: by and take like shirtless pictures of Bernard posing, and 1181 01:07:01,440 --> 01:07:03,680 Speaker 1: he wants to look his best so what does he do. 1182 01:07:04,080 --> 01:07:06,480 Speaker 1: He starves himself for a week before the session so 1183 01:07:06,520 --> 01:07:08,880 Speaker 1: that his abs will look more defined. I think this 1184 01:07:09,000 --> 01:07:11,600 Speaker 1: is the first time anyone does that. Every ab scene 1185 01:07:11,640 --> 01:07:13,720 Speaker 1: you've ever seen, like if you you can actually read 1186 01:07:13,760 --> 01:07:16,520 Speaker 1: about this, anytime you've seen an actor you like who's 1187 01:07:16,600 --> 01:07:19,000 Speaker 1: like super shredded in a movie where their abs are 1188 01:07:19,280 --> 01:07:21,760 Speaker 1: they don't drink any water for like a day before 1189 01:07:21,800 --> 01:07:24,160 Speaker 1: that scene because it makes their abs show out more 1190 01:07:24,960 --> 01:07:28,840 Speaker 1: really unhealthy, really bad for you. I think he invinced this. 1191 01:07:28,920 --> 01:07:30,080 Speaker 1: I think he's the first person to be like, oh, 1192 01:07:30,120 --> 01:07:32,080 Speaker 1: I'm gonna get like a shirtless photo taken, I'd better 1193 01:07:32,120 --> 01:07:35,000 Speaker 1: starve myself and deny myself water so that my muscles 1194 01:07:35,000 --> 01:07:39,720 Speaker 1: look more defined. Like I think he invinced this. Yeah again, this, 1195 01:07:39,720 --> 01:07:43,120 Speaker 1: this guy invinced so much shit. It's really kind of amazing. 1196 01:07:43,640 --> 01:07:46,200 Speaker 1: Um and also you know, terrible because it's it's really 1197 01:07:46,320 --> 01:07:48,480 Speaker 1: it's not only is it bad for the actors who 1198 01:07:48,520 --> 01:07:50,080 Speaker 1: do this. You talk about like Hugh Jackman I think 1199 01:07:50,120 --> 01:07:52,440 Speaker 1: has talked a decent amount about like, yeah, it's fucking 1200 01:07:52,480 --> 01:07:56,360 Speaker 1: miserable being like famous for being super jacked because you 1201 01:07:56,400 --> 01:07:58,760 Speaker 1: have to stay super jacked, which is like horrible, like 1202 01:07:58,800 --> 01:08:01,320 Speaker 1: it's not. Efron has spoken about this too on his 1203 01:08:01,360 --> 01:08:03,200 Speaker 1: Netflix show where he's like, and I didn't eat a 1204 01:08:03,200 --> 01:08:06,120 Speaker 1: car for six years, and then he goes to Italy 1205 01:08:06,160 --> 01:08:10,120 Speaker 1: and yeah, bad. It's one of those things too. It's 1206 01:08:10,120 --> 01:08:13,560 Speaker 1: also you're not actually nearly as strong as as you 1207 01:08:13,640 --> 01:08:15,720 Speaker 1: look when you are like that. If you look at 1208 01:08:15,760 --> 01:08:19,360 Speaker 1: actual strong, like people who are like who compete to 1209 01:08:19,680 --> 01:08:22,800 Speaker 1: lift the most weight, like actual practical strength, not like 1210 01:08:23,240 --> 01:08:25,639 Speaker 1: compete to look like a strong, compete to like who 1211 01:08:25,640 --> 01:08:28,200 Speaker 1: can lift eight hundred pounds over their head, they all 1212 01:08:28,240 --> 01:08:31,600 Speaker 1: have huge middle sections and bellies because that's like necessary 1213 01:08:31,720 --> 01:08:35,240 Speaker 1: to being physically. Look at a longshoreman, right, Like those 1214 01:08:35,280 --> 01:08:37,960 Speaker 1: guys would beat the ship out of your average underwear model. 1215 01:08:38,280 --> 01:08:41,400 Speaker 1: And it's because like they're they have functional anyway, it's 1216 01:08:41,479 --> 01:08:45,360 Speaker 1: bad to starve yourself. It's not not good for you physically, 1217 01:08:45,360 --> 01:08:47,800 Speaker 1: it's not good for you, not it's morally bad. Again, 1218 01:08:47,960 --> 01:08:49,840 Speaker 1: we've all struggled. A lot of us have struggled with 1219 01:08:50,040 --> 01:08:53,040 Speaker 1: eating disorders. I have, but like, it's not good for you, 1220 01:08:53,360 --> 01:08:57,439 Speaker 1: And Bernard really gets that started, like really is the 1221 01:08:57,479 --> 01:08:59,840 Speaker 1: origin point for that in our culture, this idea of 1222 01:09:00,160 --> 01:09:03,880 Speaker 1: starvation and like particularly starvation to make yourself look better 1223 01:09:03,960 --> 01:09:06,479 Speaker 1: for like a photo shoot, which then passes on to 1224 01:09:06,560 --> 01:09:09,080 Speaker 1: like all these people having unreasonable expectations for like well 1225 01:09:09,080 --> 01:09:10,680 Speaker 1: my body should look like that all the time, and 1226 01:09:10,720 --> 01:09:12,479 Speaker 1: it's like, well, their body doesn't look like that all 1227 01:09:12,520 --> 01:09:16,599 Speaker 1: the time. They didn't drink water for a day. He's 1228 01:09:17,120 --> 01:09:19,439 Speaker 1: going for this, He's like passing this information along, like 1229 01:09:19,520 --> 01:09:22,240 Speaker 1: here's a little tip and a trick. If you deny 1230 01:09:22,360 --> 01:09:27,720 Speaker 1: yourself food and water, you'll look great hot. Yeah you 1231 01:09:27,800 --> 01:09:29,360 Speaker 1: have you think of this as like a viry, Like 1232 01:09:29,400 --> 01:09:34,160 Speaker 1: he shoots this into the body politic and it's never left. Um, 1233 01:09:34,200 --> 01:09:37,120 Speaker 1: it's great. For the next few years, burn Our works 1234 01:09:37,120 --> 01:09:39,759 Speaker 1: as a teacher, a personal trainer, a model, and a writer, 1235 01:09:40,080 --> 01:09:43,480 Speaker 1: finally selling articles on fitness and health to numerous publications. 1236 01:09:43,640 --> 01:09:47,880 Speaker 1: But the whole time, Bernard's number one product was Bernard McFadden. Right. Again, 1237 01:09:47,920 --> 01:09:51,920 Speaker 1: this is very much like influencers today. Next, he decided 1238 01:09:51,960 --> 01:09:54,839 Speaker 1: to bring you for the good in the service product 1239 01:09:54,920 --> 01:09:59,320 Speaker 1: and the product in this trash. Next, he decides to 1240 01:09:59,320 --> 01:10:01,559 Speaker 1: bring the benefit of his teaching to people in their 1241 01:10:01,560 --> 01:10:05,120 Speaker 1: homes by creating an exercise machine anyone could use. So 1242 01:10:05,200 --> 01:10:08,120 Speaker 1: he's the first if this influencer to make an exercise 1243 01:10:08,200 --> 01:10:10,960 Speaker 1: machine and sell it through the infomercials of today. Dude, 1244 01:10:11,800 --> 01:10:16,280 Speaker 1: this guy you have to respect how groundbreaking he is. 1245 01:10:16,360 --> 01:10:19,200 Speaker 1: Like every month of his twenties, he's inventing a thing 1246 01:10:19,240 --> 01:10:22,880 Speaker 1: that exists forever now and he hasn't killed that baby yet. 1247 01:10:23,080 --> 01:10:28,960 Speaker 1: He has not yet killed that I mean, right, so 1248 01:10:28,960 --> 01:10:32,920 Speaker 1: so far, I mean I admire his Uh, there's a 1249 01:10:33,000 --> 01:10:37,280 Speaker 1: respect you have to have for anyone who is this influential. Right, 1250 01:10:37,520 --> 01:10:39,800 Speaker 1: doesn't mean they're good, because a lot of the things 1251 01:10:39,800 --> 01:10:42,559 Speaker 1: he's invented, even at this early stage, are bad things. 1252 01:10:42,840 --> 01:10:45,840 Speaker 1: But it is like, well, god damn, Like, I mean, 1253 01:10:46,040 --> 01:10:48,719 Speaker 1: his productivity, And I know we shouldn't like measure someone's 1254 01:10:48,800 --> 01:10:52,080 Speaker 1: value or anything like that based on productivity, but it's 1255 01:10:52,080 --> 01:10:53,600 Speaker 1: one of those things I still kind of hang on 1256 01:10:53,640 --> 01:10:56,120 Speaker 1: to where I'm like, I've done nothing today and this 1257 01:10:56,200 --> 01:11:00,799 Speaker 1: guy and he's twenty five and he's inventing. He's created 1258 01:11:00,840 --> 01:11:05,080 Speaker 1: like four different poisons that still exist in our society. 1259 01:11:06,240 --> 01:11:08,920 Speaker 1: He started singing the song that might in the world, 1260 01:11:09,880 --> 01:11:14,160 Speaker 1: you know. So he invinced this exercise machine, and he 1261 01:11:14,200 --> 01:11:17,839 Speaker 1: describes it as quote, a combination of rubber chords running 1262 01:11:17,840 --> 01:11:21,360 Speaker 1: over pulleys um and it was such a failure in 1263 01:11:21,400 --> 01:11:24,160 Speaker 1: the US that the company making it goes bankrupt. But 1264 01:11:24,200 --> 01:11:27,400 Speaker 1: Bernard doesn't take this lying down. Instead, he takes the 1265 01:11:27,880 --> 01:11:30,479 Speaker 1: machines that have been built and he travels to England 1266 01:11:30,720 --> 01:11:33,120 Speaker 1: and he holds a series of stage shows where he 1267 01:11:33,160 --> 01:11:36,320 Speaker 1: shows up on stage in a loincloth lit from below 1268 01:11:36,360 --> 01:11:38,960 Speaker 1: on a background of black velvet, and he poses with 1269 01:11:39,000 --> 01:11:41,880 Speaker 1: his machine, lecturing on its benefits while showing off his 1270 01:11:41,920 --> 01:11:45,320 Speaker 1: shredded abs and biceps. He is hosting the first infomercials 1271 01:11:45,439 --> 01:11:48,240 Speaker 1: which he does in England. Yeah, because he's like trying 1272 01:11:48,240 --> 01:11:50,120 Speaker 1: to advertise it, I think to the paper in the US. 1273 01:11:50,200 --> 01:11:54,120 Speaker 1: Doesn't really work. Next from the book, Mr America, perhaps 1274 01:11:54,120 --> 01:11:57,200 Speaker 1: inspired by the life changing pamphlet of dumbbell exercises he 1275 01:11:57,320 --> 01:12:00,320 Speaker 1: received on his first visit to the Missouri Gymnasy him, 1276 01:12:00,360 --> 01:12:02,920 Speaker 1: he published a four page brochure describing how to use 1277 01:12:02,920 --> 01:12:06,960 Speaker 1: the McFadden exerciser. When British audience has devoured this fitness wisdom, 1278 01:12:07,000 --> 01:12:09,840 Speaker 1: the frustrated writer began adding his rejected health articles to 1279 01:12:09,880 --> 01:12:13,280 Speaker 1: the publication's contents. What started as an instruction manual was 1280 01:12:13,360 --> 01:12:17,600 Speaker 1: soon transformed into a miniature physical culture periodical inside was 1281 01:12:17,640 --> 01:12:20,040 Speaker 1: an address to which interested parties could send money to 1282 01:12:20,040 --> 01:12:24,400 Speaker 1: receive future editions. Orders flooded in. McFadden quickly arranged to 1283 01:12:24,439 --> 01:12:27,960 Speaker 1: publish the pamphlets regularly out of London as McFadden's magazine. 1284 01:12:28,760 --> 01:12:31,639 Speaker 1: So he starts the first fitness magazine. This is really 1285 01:12:31,640 --> 01:12:35,240 Speaker 1: the first one that exists. And this leads McFadden's magazine 1286 01:12:35,240 --> 01:12:39,000 Speaker 1: in England, leads quickly in eight like he returns home 1287 01:12:39,200 --> 01:12:42,080 Speaker 1: um and in eight while he's back in the u S. 1288 01:12:42,439 --> 01:12:45,160 Speaker 1: Bernard McFadden creates a new magazine and this is going 1289 01:12:45,200 --> 01:12:49,160 Speaker 1: to be his first like dedicated full time publication. Uh. 1290 01:12:49,160 --> 01:12:51,759 Speaker 1: And it is the first dedicated health magazine in history. 1291 01:12:51,960 --> 01:12:55,760 Speaker 1: He calls it physical culture. His wife would later say 1292 01:12:55,840 --> 01:12:58,160 Speaker 1: that most of his articles and the dozens of books 1293 01:12:58,160 --> 01:13:00,920 Speaker 1: he started writing from this point forward were the result 1294 01:13:01,000 --> 01:13:04,240 Speaker 1: of him encountering a physical malady, getting through it, and 1295 01:13:04,280 --> 01:13:07,639 Speaker 1: deciding that he had arrived at a medical breakthrough. Since 1296 01:13:07,640 --> 01:13:10,679 Speaker 1: his default treatment for almost everything was to starve himself 1297 01:13:10,760 --> 01:13:13,800 Speaker 1: or to exercise, most of his recommendations were based around 1298 01:13:13,880 --> 01:13:17,639 Speaker 1: starving yourself or exercising. He quickly developed a fan base 1299 01:13:17,960 --> 01:13:21,000 Speaker 1: from the Wall Street Journal quote. He attracted a following 1300 01:13:21,000 --> 01:13:24,240 Speaker 1: of serious people that included, among others, Upton Sinclair, the 1301 01:13:24,240 --> 01:13:27,479 Speaker 1: guy who wrote The Jungle, who contributed articles to Physical Culture. 1302 01:13:27,760 --> 01:13:31,320 Speaker 1: Proto feminists such as Charlotte Perkins and Margaret Sanger also 1303 01:13:31,320 --> 01:13:34,920 Speaker 1: wrote for McFadden. From the beginning, Physical Culture was rooted 1304 01:13:34,960 --> 01:13:38,559 Speaker 1: firmly in the imperialist dogma and white supremacy at the time, 1305 01:13:38,920 --> 01:13:41,320 Speaker 1: but not in a Nazi way. Um, in like the 1306 01:13:41,360 --> 01:13:46,439 Speaker 1: noble savage cultural appropriation way. Right. Um, I'm just like 1307 01:13:46,520 --> 01:13:49,960 Speaker 1: they're different. So I'm making that clear. From an article 1308 01:13:50,000 --> 01:13:53,960 Speaker 1: by Katherine Kaiser of James Madison University, quote, Physical Culture 1309 01:13:54,000 --> 01:13:57,960 Speaker 1: played into an ideal of frontier masculinity that may explain 1310 01:13:58,000 --> 01:14:01,320 Speaker 1: its strong circulation numbers in the West. The magazine contains 1311 01:14:01,360 --> 01:14:04,360 Speaker 1: some expressly regional content. In an early issue, a reader 1312 01:14:04,360 --> 01:14:08,040 Speaker 1: inquires about a Physical Culture settlement in New Mexico. Physical 1313 01:14:08,120 --> 01:14:11,839 Speaker 1: Culture also plumbed us mythologies associated with the West, praising 1314 01:14:11,880 --> 01:14:16,479 Speaker 1: indigenous diets and midwifery with imperialist nostalgia. McFadden published fiction 1315 01:14:16,560 --> 01:14:21,400 Speaker 1: by Jack London reinforcing that fantasy of white masculinity, Northwestern exploration, 1316 01:14:21,520 --> 01:14:24,800 Speaker 1: and the raw elements. The magazine was considered scandalous for 1317 01:14:24,840 --> 01:14:27,599 Speaker 1: its pictures of scantily clad bodies, which may explain its 1318 01:14:27,640 --> 01:14:31,200 Speaker 1: limited circulation along the Bible Belt physical cultures. Versions of 1319 01:14:31,280 --> 01:14:35,759 Speaker 1: muscular manhood and fearless femininity promuligated frank sexuality and clean 1320 01:14:35,800 --> 01:14:39,600 Speaker 1: eating still hallmarks of California culture. So he kind of 1321 01:14:39,640 --> 01:14:44,679 Speaker 1: invents California in a lot of ways, like he really, 1322 01:14:44,720 --> 01:14:47,000 Speaker 1: he really does. Like that's like this whole mix of 1323 01:14:47,040 --> 01:14:52,360 Speaker 1: like um often a historical idolization of indigenous diets based 1324 01:14:52,360 --> 01:14:55,120 Speaker 1: on stuff white people wrote as opposed to actual history 1325 01:14:55,360 --> 01:14:59,160 Speaker 1: mixed with like the benefits of exercise and fasting. Like 1326 01:14:59,439 --> 01:15:03,880 Speaker 1: he invent California suddenly, certainly Southern California scantily clad sexy 1327 01:15:03,880 --> 01:15:09,520 Speaker 1: and santalis sexy people. Yes, he's just created Southern California. 1328 01:15:10,439 --> 01:15:13,840 Speaker 1: From the beginning physical culture, the magazine was influential from 1329 01:15:13,840 --> 01:15:15,880 Speaker 1: more than just its health advice. Was also one of 1330 01:15:15,920 --> 01:15:20,040 Speaker 1: the first mainstream publications where Americans could see scantily clad 1331 01:15:20,160 --> 01:15:24,480 Speaker 1: or even naked human bodies. At the time, Anthony Comstock 1332 01:15:24,600 --> 01:15:27,160 Speaker 1: was a U. S. Postal inspector and the secretary of 1333 01:15:27,200 --> 01:15:30,080 Speaker 1: the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. His 1334 01:15:30,240 --> 01:15:32,800 Speaker 1: job was basically to make sure that stuffy victorians in 1335 01:15:32,800 --> 01:15:36,000 Speaker 1: the Big Apple encountered nothing that might harm their sensibilities. 1336 01:15:36,280 --> 01:15:38,599 Speaker 1: When someone pointed out that there was a hugely popular 1337 01:15:38,640 --> 01:15:41,200 Speaker 1: magazine with photographs and drawings of topless women in it, 1338 01:15:41,400 --> 01:15:44,599 Speaker 1: he lost his fucking mind. From History and net quote. 1339 01:15:45,040 --> 01:15:48,120 Speaker 1: In nineteen he rented Madison Square Garden for a monster 1340 01:15:48,160 --> 01:15:52,000 Speaker 1: physical culture exhibition, advertised with posters of muscular men and 1341 01:15:52,000 --> 01:15:55,320 Speaker 1: women minimally dressed. Anthony Comstock, head of the Society for 1342 01:15:55,360 --> 01:15:58,559 Speaker 1: the Suppression of Vice, seized the posters and arrested McFadden 1343 01:15:58,600 --> 01:16:01,839 Speaker 1: for obscenity. The court evicted him without penalty. The Hoopla 1344 01:16:02,000 --> 01:16:05,960 Speaker 1: drew twenty customers, so again, being censored is great for 1345 01:16:06,040 --> 01:16:09,960 Speaker 1: his business. Police again arrested McFadden in n seven when 1346 01:16:09,960 --> 01:16:12,960 Speaker 1: a New Jersey postmaster charged that a physical culture article 1347 01:16:13,000 --> 01:16:17,040 Speaker 1: about venereal disease was obscene. The jury convicted McFadden. The 1348 01:16:17,120 --> 01:16:19,799 Speaker 1: judge sentenced him to two years in prison. He filed 1349 01:16:19,800 --> 01:16:23,680 Speaker 1: an appeal, meanwhile traveling the country denouncing prudes and censors, 1350 01:16:23,680 --> 01:16:27,200 Speaker 1: but the appeals court upheld his conviction. Facing prison, McFadden 1351 01:16:27,320 --> 01:16:30,799 Speaker 1: urged fans to write to President William Howard Taft delused 1352 01:16:30,840 --> 01:16:34,840 Speaker 1: with letters taft, America's fattest president, pardoned the muscle bound 1353 01:16:34,920 --> 01:16:40,479 Speaker 1: media king. And it's again this mix of things that 1354 01:16:40,520 --> 01:16:42,120 Speaker 1: are bad and things that are good that he's doing. 1355 01:16:42,200 --> 01:16:45,479 Speaker 1: The obscene vinereal disease articles that he gets censored for, 1356 01:16:45,760 --> 01:16:48,040 Speaker 1: is him like talking very frankly about this is what 1357 01:16:48,080 --> 01:16:50,759 Speaker 1: gnarrhea looks like and what it does and how it spread, 1358 01:16:51,040 --> 01:16:52,800 Speaker 1: what syphilis looks like and what it does and how 1359 01:16:52,800 --> 01:16:56,160 Speaker 1: it's spread. Like it's he's actually doing a necessary public 1360 01:16:56,200 --> 01:17:03,400 Speaker 1: service that he gets censored for. Okay, yeah, yeah, it's cool. Now, 1361 01:17:04,000 --> 01:17:07,160 Speaker 1: while all this is going on, McFadden is fighting the government, 1362 01:17:07,560 --> 01:17:09,360 Speaker 1: you know, while my fadden is fighting the government for 1363 01:17:09,439 --> 01:17:11,520 Speaker 1: his right to like show tits and talk about syphilis, 1364 01:17:11,560 --> 01:17:14,160 Speaker 1: he's also operating a cult compound in New Jersey. So 1365 01:17:14,200 --> 01:17:16,360 Speaker 1: he starts a cult compound. Yeah, in the early nine 1366 01:17:18,960 --> 01:17:21,559 Speaker 1: why not, like I will one day do, but not 1367 01:17:21,640 --> 01:17:24,280 Speaker 1: on the East coast because that sounds hard talked about. 1368 01:17:24,920 --> 01:17:27,720 Speaker 1: We talked about this, and as cult compounds go, his 1369 01:17:27,800 --> 01:17:29,960 Speaker 1: was pretty milk toast. No one died or as far 1370 01:17:29,960 --> 01:17:32,040 Speaker 1: as I can tell, got like raped or anything. Like, 1371 01:17:32,080 --> 01:17:34,880 Speaker 1: I don't, I don't like. It's kind of a cult, 1372 01:17:35,400 --> 01:17:39,840 Speaker 1: but it's not really. Yeah, it's definitely like a diet version. 1373 01:17:39,840 --> 01:17:44,120 Speaker 1: I don't think, oh god, yeah, I know it is 1374 01:17:44,120 --> 01:17:47,599 Speaker 1: a diet cult. Yeah. Um. But I have to say 1375 01:17:47,680 --> 01:17:50,280 Speaker 1: it goes down in history as having the dumbest name 1376 01:17:50,360 --> 01:17:58,000 Speaker 1: in could compound history. Are no physical culture city? What 1377 01:17:59,479 --> 01:18:06,680 Speaker 1: cosson physical culture city. It's very funny. It's like if 1378 01:18:06,680 --> 01:18:10,160 Speaker 1: I called my could compound behind the bastards town, Like 1379 01:18:10,520 --> 01:18:14,000 Speaker 1: it's just kind of lame, Like come on, what you're 1380 01:18:14,080 --> 01:18:18,840 Speaker 1: going to call it? Mosopolis? Like Jesus Christ. To understand 1381 01:18:18,880 --> 01:18:21,080 Speaker 1: his efforts here, we should go back and talk about 1382 01:18:21,120 --> 01:18:24,720 Speaker 1: the cold compound that inspired Bernard's cult compound, the much 1383 01:18:24,760 --> 01:18:28,360 Speaker 1: better named Zion City. That's a fucking compound name. That's 1384 01:18:28,360 --> 01:18:31,280 Speaker 1: what you call your cold compound, right, Zion City, solid 1385 01:18:31,360 --> 01:18:35,479 Speaker 1: could compound name. Zion City had been founded at the 1386 01:18:35,479 --> 01:18:38,120 Speaker 1: turn of the century by a guy named John Alexander 1387 01:18:38,240 --> 01:18:41,240 Speaker 1: Dowie uh Dowie or Dowie whatever. Was a preacher who 1388 01:18:41,320 --> 01:18:44,120 Speaker 1: brought five thousand followers out of Chicago and created a 1389 01:18:44,160 --> 01:18:48,120 Speaker 1: small city where people could live a godly life. In 1390 01:18:48,200 --> 01:18:52,880 Speaker 1: Dowie's estimation, godly meant no drinking, smoking, pork, doctors, or vaccines. 1391 01:18:53,080 --> 01:18:55,280 Speaker 1: So you can see why Bernard McFadden loved this ship. 1392 01:18:56,040 --> 01:18:59,200 Speaker 1: In nineteen o three, Bernard declared Dowie the greatest leader 1393 01:18:59,200 --> 01:19:02,759 Speaker 1: and most remarkable reformer of the last hundred years. Shortly thereafter, 1394 01:19:02,960 --> 01:19:05,320 Speaker 1: Dowie was kicked out of his church for stealing from it. 1395 01:19:05,640 --> 01:19:08,360 Speaker 1: But Bernard Meermain deeply committed to his vision, and in 1396 01:19:08,439 --> 01:19:10,840 Speaker 1: nineteen o four he started writing columns in which he 1397 01:19:10,880 --> 01:19:14,120 Speaker 1: discussed his desire to buy land and create a city. 1398 01:19:14,200 --> 01:19:17,400 Speaker 1: Soon after, he bought eighteen hundred acres in northern New Jersey. 1399 01:19:17,640 --> 01:19:20,120 Speaker 1: He called it Physical Culture City, and it was large 1400 01:19:20,240 --> 01:19:22,400 Speaker 1: enough to be subdivided into many lots. This idea was 1401 01:19:22,439 --> 01:19:25,000 Speaker 1: that people would buy lots in Physical Culture City and 1402 01:19:25,000 --> 01:19:27,960 Speaker 1: build an actual industrial city. He wants this to have 1403 01:19:28,000 --> 01:19:32,040 Speaker 1: like factories and ship um. And it's located well, it's 1404 01:19:32,080 --> 01:19:34,479 Speaker 1: next to a railroad road crossing, so like it is 1405 01:19:34,520 --> 01:19:36,639 Speaker 1: possible to get stuff in and out of there. Um. 1406 01:19:36,640 --> 01:19:39,000 Speaker 1: It's got its own seventy acre water feature, which he 1407 01:19:39,040 --> 01:19:41,960 Speaker 1: calls Lake Margaret, which is named after his second wife. 1408 01:19:41,960 --> 01:19:44,840 Speaker 1: He's gotten married and divorced once already. He does this 1409 01:19:45,000 --> 01:19:48,160 Speaker 1: lot um. This happens to him a few times, so 1410 01:19:49,000 --> 01:19:51,519 Speaker 1: his employees noted that when it came to the women 1411 01:19:51,560 --> 01:19:55,400 Speaker 1: he married, he preferred Amazon's large breasted women with large 1412 01:19:55,479 --> 01:19:59,360 Speaker 1: child bearing hips. Um. When he married Marguerite, he immediately 1413 01:19:59,360 --> 01:20:02,120 Speaker 1: started having her write articles about raising children to a 1414 01:20:02,120 --> 01:20:05,000 Speaker 1: new magazine that he started for her articles called Beauty 1415 01:20:05,040 --> 01:20:09,200 Speaker 1: and Health. Now neither of them had kids at this point. Um. Yeah, 1416 01:20:09,240 --> 01:20:12,360 Speaker 1: but they're writing articles about how to raise them. Um. 1417 01:20:12,400 --> 01:20:15,679 Speaker 1: Immediately after their wedding, and again, this is his second marriage, 1418 01:20:15,680 --> 01:20:17,960 Speaker 1: Bernard writes a book, which is his tenth book in 1419 01:20:17,960 --> 01:20:19,840 Speaker 1: the last five years. He's just writing books all the 1420 01:20:19,880 --> 01:20:22,760 Speaker 1: goddamn time now, and it sounds like he's pivoted from 1421 01:20:22,840 --> 01:20:29,480 Speaker 1: plagiarizing Jane Austen to mostly just like fitness self help. Yeah. 1422 01:20:29,560 --> 01:20:33,639 Speaker 1: And the book he writes is marriage a Lifelong Honeymoon. Um. 1423 01:20:33,720 --> 01:20:36,320 Speaker 1: And in it again he's failed at his first marriage, 1424 01:20:36,479 --> 01:20:38,479 Speaker 1: but and he just started his second. But he's like, 1425 01:20:38,520 --> 01:20:41,320 Speaker 1: I got this ship figured out now, I know exactly 1426 01:20:41,320 --> 01:20:44,600 Speaker 1: what I'm talking about, he thinks. And his conclusion is 1427 01:20:44,640 --> 01:20:47,519 Speaker 1: that all divorces are caused by people not exercising enough. 1428 01:20:51,360 --> 01:20:54,840 Speaker 1: It's very funny. Oh wow, he's he is funny. He's 1429 01:20:54,880 --> 01:20:58,560 Speaker 1: quite a guy. In nineteen o five, Bernar and Marguerite 1430 01:20:58,640 --> 01:21:01,360 Speaker 1: had a baby, a daughter, and immediately moved to a 1431 01:21:01,400 --> 01:21:04,639 Speaker 1: house that they built in Physical Culture City. The city's 1432 01:21:04,720 --> 01:21:08,000 Speaker 1: opening was announced in Bernard's magazine to great fanfare. He 1433 01:21:08,080 --> 01:21:11,160 Speaker 1: bragged it would be quote a community with no sickly prudes, 1434 01:21:11,280 --> 01:21:14,400 Speaker 1: no saloons, drug stores, tobacco shops, or places in which 1435 01:21:14,479 --> 01:21:17,040 Speaker 1: one may purchase things that make for the moral undoing 1436 01:21:17,080 --> 01:21:21,000 Speaker 1: of man or woman. Speaking of moral undoings, Bernard almost 1437 01:21:21,000 --> 01:21:23,680 Speaker 1: immediately fell in love with his secretary Susie, and he 1438 01:21:23,760 --> 01:21:25,519 Speaker 1: set a house up with her in the house he 1439 01:21:25,560 --> 01:21:29,439 Speaker 1: lived with with his wife. Um. And yeah, he set 1440 01:21:29,520 --> 01:21:31,639 Speaker 1: up a house in the same He moved her into 1441 01:21:31,680 --> 01:21:36,240 Speaker 1: the house with his wife. Yeah, okay, So his wife leaves, 1442 01:21:36,320 --> 01:21:38,600 Speaker 1: she goes to Canada. He never sees her again. She 1443 01:21:38,720 --> 01:21:41,680 Speaker 1: takes her their daughter with him and her, and he 1444 01:21:41,720 --> 01:21:44,720 Speaker 1: never sees his daughter again either. I think, Um, he's 1445 01:21:44,760 --> 01:21:47,479 Speaker 1: fine with this because he's got Susie now. Uh. Susie's 1446 01:21:47,520 --> 01:21:49,479 Speaker 1: mom moves in to help keep up the house, to 1447 01:21:49,560 --> 01:21:52,400 Speaker 1: keep it clean, and Susie gets pregnant with Bernard's second child. 1448 01:21:52,439 --> 01:21:57,600 Speaker 1: In nineteen o six, Physical Culture City operated again another innovation, 1449 01:21:57,840 --> 01:22:02,160 Speaker 1: as an internship scan. He advertise degrees and Physical Culture 1450 01:22:02,200 --> 01:22:04,160 Speaker 1: to people who would come and cut down trees and 1451 01:22:04,200 --> 01:22:07,439 Speaker 1: plant crops for free. Um he would like build streets 1452 01:22:07,439 --> 01:22:10,520 Speaker 1: and stuff. He builds this as a work study program, 1453 01:22:10,560 --> 01:22:12,920 Speaker 1: but he makes it impossible to graduate, so they stay 1454 01:22:12,920 --> 01:22:16,680 Speaker 1: as indentured laborers the whole side. Holy sure, I know 1455 01:22:17,280 --> 01:22:23,800 Speaker 1: what a fucking groundbreaking thinker. I can't believe. I did 1456 01:22:23,800 --> 01:22:27,400 Speaker 1: not expect for that to take that turn. He's amazing. 1457 01:22:30,160 --> 01:22:33,600 Speaker 1: Most people who resided in Physical Culture City were interns. 1458 01:22:33,920 --> 01:22:36,120 Speaker 1: The rest were a handful of wealthy cranks who wanted 1459 01:22:36,160 --> 01:22:39,200 Speaker 1: to spend all their time nude or experiment with weird diets. 1460 01:22:39,200 --> 01:22:42,080 Speaker 1: That were a lot of raw food fanatics who like 1461 01:22:42,280 --> 01:22:45,439 Speaker 1: live in Physical Culture City. The whole project fell apart, 1462 01:22:45,520 --> 01:22:49,480 Speaker 1: of course, it never eclipsed two people in population. Bernard's 1463 01:22:49,520 --> 01:22:52,360 Speaker 1: arrest for transporting of scene material through the mail actually 1464 01:22:52,360 --> 01:22:55,280 Speaker 1: happened because the postmaster that he bribed to handle the 1465 01:22:55,320 --> 01:22:57,680 Speaker 1: city's mail got angry when Bernard then tried to cut 1466 01:22:57,760 --> 01:23:00,439 Speaker 1: him out of the business, and this postmaster warts into 1467 01:23:00,439 --> 01:23:04,040 Speaker 1: the FEDS. A lot of formerly dedicated members abandoned the 1468 01:23:04,040 --> 01:23:06,920 Speaker 1: project when Bernar abandoned his wife, and they're like, oh, 1469 01:23:06,960 --> 01:23:10,000 Speaker 1: maybe this guy isn't doesn't know all. He wrote a 1470 01:23:10,000 --> 01:23:12,920 Speaker 1: book on how marriage is a long lasting honeymoon, and 1471 01:23:12,920 --> 01:23:16,599 Speaker 1: then he abandons his wife. I can't trust him. Maybe 1472 01:23:16,600 --> 01:23:19,160 Speaker 1: this guy doesn't know what he's talking about. Uh. These 1473 01:23:19,200 --> 01:23:21,519 Speaker 1: two things together led to a mass exodus that was 1474 01:23:21,560 --> 01:23:25,679 Speaker 1: exacerbated by a disastrous town meeting in which Bernard accused 1475 01:23:25,720 --> 01:23:30,799 Speaker 1: everyone else of committing my favorite term ever, physical culture treason. 1476 01:23:35,439 --> 01:23:44,639 Speaker 1: What a perfect maniac, physical culture treason. Oh that's good, 1477 01:23:44,920 --> 01:23:47,920 Speaker 1: he's very funny. By nineteen o seven, he and his 1478 01:23:47,960 --> 01:23:50,840 Speaker 1: operation We're back in New York City. By nineteen ten, 1479 01:23:50,920 --> 01:23:53,120 Speaker 1: he'd written another eight books, and he'd opened a chain 1480 01:23:53,160 --> 01:23:56,080 Speaker 1: of health food restaurants that sold healthy meals for one cent. 1481 01:23:56,479 --> 01:23:59,080 Speaker 1: And these do seem to have been pretty good. He 1482 01:23:59,200 --> 01:24:02,439 Speaker 1: also sent three years Sorry, I'm just doing and I 1483 01:24:02,479 --> 01:24:05,880 Speaker 1: don't think they're not good books, Caitlin. He's like, he's 1484 01:24:05,920 --> 01:24:09,600 Speaker 1: like Stephen King, but with health shit right, Okay, what 1485 01:24:09,720 --> 01:24:12,120 Speaker 1: if a car made you fit? I don't know whatever. 1486 01:24:12,560 --> 01:24:15,360 Speaker 1: So he also founded a chain of health attori ums, 1487 01:24:15,479 --> 01:24:18,200 Speaker 1: most of which operated similarly to the health Club at 1488 01:24:18,200 --> 01:24:23,040 Speaker 1: Battle Creek operated by Dr Harvey Kellogg. Bernar personally created 1489 01:24:23,040 --> 01:24:25,240 Speaker 1: treatment plans for each of the patrons who showed up 1490 01:24:25,280 --> 01:24:28,200 Speaker 1: at his health actorium for extended stays. Most of his 1491 01:24:28,240 --> 01:24:32,479 Speaker 1: treatments involved fasting or starvation. Um. And that's what we're 1492 01:24:32,479 --> 01:24:35,160 Speaker 1: going to end for part one. Caitlin. We have a 1493 01:24:35,200 --> 01:24:37,479 Speaker 1: good bit more of Bernard's tale to tell, but that's 1494 01:24:37,479 --> 01:24:39,920 Speaker 1: going to have to wait until Thursday. Until then, do 1495 01:24:39,920 --> 01:24:44,639 Speaker 1: you be pluggables to plug? Oh goodness, I do, and 1496 01:24:44,720 --> 01:24:48,280 Speaker 1: they are this. You can follow me on Instagram and 1497 01:24:48,560 --> 01:24:52,720 Speaker 1: Twitter at Caitlin Durante, and you can check out the 1498 01:24:52,920 --> 01:24:55,679 Speaker 1: podcast that I co host with Jamie Loftus called The 1499 01:24:55,680 --> 01:24:59,560 Speaker 1: Bechtel Cast, in which we examine movies through an intersectional 1500 01:24:59,640 --> 01:25:03,719 Speaker 1: femine list lens. And of course you can find Caitlin 1501 01:25:03,800 --> 01:25:10,880 Speaker 1: at Physical Culture City um Born and Raised and Raised BOYD. 1502 01:25:10,880 --> 01:25:11,360 Speaker 1: Here we Go.